The Ballad of the In-Laws
by writer writing
Summary: Sister Ruth and Kid Cole travel to Virginia and Arkansas to meet their in-laws, and Kid has to face the guilt and grief he lives with over the past. AU. Sequel to The Ballad of a Healer and a Gunman.
1. Chapter 1

The firelight flashed off the needle Sister Ruth was using, but it had become impossible for her to see the dark thread on the dark fabric anymore, so she laid the shirt she was working on down on her lap.

"It's about time you put it away. I ain't in danger of being naked anytime soon," Kid Cole commented, "and you're going to strain your eyes that way."

"That's just an old wives' tale," Ruth said dismissively. "Besides, the lighting ain't keeping you from cleaning your gun."

He set it down with a smile. "There. We've saved our eyes."

"As old as we are, I'd say our eyes are about gone anyway," she said in teasing reply as she rocked while Kid just absorbed the sight. The truth was he'd a whole lot rather look at her than his gun.

After a few moments of quiet, she said, "I wish you could've met my family. My parents and siblings. It's hard to believe they're all gone now except for some cousins and some nieces and nephews."

"I know what you mean," he said. Then he added with adoring eyes, "My family would've loved you."

She laughed. "I doubt that, but I would've liked to have met them."

"Sometimes I wish I could go back. Say what I never said to them. Try to mend some fences."

She knew how much he still grieved his brother's death, and she reached out and took his hand in hers, trying to impart what comfort she could.

December 1828

A ship sliced through the Atlantic waters. The ship was a Boston trading vessel that brought otter and beaver skins from San Francisco to sell to rich folks back east.

Kid, remembering how homesick Ruth was, had gotten a big enough reward from capturing a wanted outlaw to pay for passage to Virginia. The captain had been reluctant at first, not normally taking passengers, but when Kid had flashed the wad of bills, he couldn't say no even when the passengers had included their horses and their luggage had included the new wagon.

Norfolk was now in the distance, their port of destination. Ruth and Kid stood on deck watching as the town slowly drew closer.

Ruth had gotten her sea legs after a miserable first week when all she'd been able to keep down was tea. Nonetheless, the prospect of having dry, solid land under her feet again thrilled her.

"I bet the sailors will be glad to be rid of you," Kid commented, "making them watch their language and talking about God to them all the time. They've complained to me often enough that it felt like they were in a never-ending church service."

"I have a feeling that's how the women are bad luck on a ship thing got started," she said with a chuckle. Then she added, "Is that what being married to me feels like?"

He smiled and pulled her closer. "No, being married to you feels like paradise."

When they finally got to the harbor and got off, her legs didn't know what to do with ground that didn't sway with the choppy waves. Kid gave her his arm to steady her and they walked up and down the dock until she got her bearings.

Kid hitched the horses to the wagon and helped her up onto the seat. It was the first time she'd really gotten to use the wagon other than the short ride around San Francisco Kid had taken her on.

"You're driving?" he asked, hesitation in his eyes when she picked up the reins.

"We'll be able to go further if we take turns. Unlike with the horses, I have actually driven wagons. I've gone up mountain paths where one false move and we'd have gone over the side."

There was still a bit of hesitation, knowing his wife sometimes enjoyed breaknecking speeds, and she further added, "In fact, I even taught myself to hold the reins with my feet. Would you like to see?"

"Nobody knows how flexible you are better than I do, but if it's just the same to you, I'd prefer not to see it."

"Alright, but it's a useful skill to have. You'll be begging me to do it if our arms are ever rendered useless," she said teasingly. She clicked her tongue and gently pulled on the reigns to get them moving. "We can make a beeline westward from Norfolk. It's almost a straight line."

He gave a grunt to let her know he was listening as he studied the surroundings. He was interested in the eastern town, having never been in one before. Norfolk had the feeling of establishment and history unlike San Francisco. Most of the buildings were made from brick and steeples of churches pierced the sky. The streets were actually paved, making the ride in the wagon smoother than he could have dreamed. There were even lamps to light the streets at night. The streets and dock bustled with activity and plenty of noise made up from a large assortment of people. He didn't see any Spanish or Indians, but there were a lot of dark-skinned people. He was surprised to see that a lot of these slaves moved about freely.

"Kind of makes you long for open spaces," he said, commenting on the number of people.

"It is a mite congested, although that means there's a lot of nice goods to be had. I'd like to get my family some presents before we leave if you don't mind."

"It's fine with me."

They passed a cluster of people ranging from skin as dark as ebony to skin so light they could have passed for white. They were being traded and would end up somewhere deeper south.

Ruth whispered a passing prayer for the people and then shook her head. "That's a blight on our country. It just ain't right, splitting up families, not giving people the freedoms God meant for us to have, and heaven knows what happens to them if they fall into the hands of a cruel person. And some of them are our very own sisters and brothers in Christ and we do this to them. It just ain't Biblical. I don't care what some of them preachers say about Ham's curse."

"You got much slaves around home?" he asked.

"Not that I know of. Our community is full of poor folks who can barely afford to feed themselves and the land ain't made for great, big plantations, so Western Virginia ain't got near as many slaves as Eastern Virginia. It just don't make economical sense. Wish I could say it's because it doesn't make moral sense to them either. You got slaves where you grew up?"

"My family don't have 'em, but I know a neighbor or two that have a few."

"I hope I live to see the day where a revival sweeps through this nation and convicts the people to live in a manner more pleasing to God."

"It's a nice dream," he agreed.

Ruth picked up some trinkets for her family and was glad she had thought to bring oranges and lemons to her family before sailing as they cost an arm and a leg in Norfolk. Then they were on their way westward.

The air was only nippy, although it certainly could get colder and probably would once they hit the mountains. There were so many trees, barren though they were at this time of year. Rivers and creeks were everywhere it seemed, meaning there was no threat of going thirsty.

Christmas was just a week away when they began to near her home. The blue-tinted mountains loomed into sight. "Aren't they beautiful? I didn't realize how homesick I was for them until just now."

"They are pretty," he agreed.

There was a gap in the mountain range that allowed them to take their wagon through into the valley where her family lived, land that Daniel Boone had traveled a little over 50 years ago on his way to Kentucky. There were patches of leftover snow on the ground now with dry winter grass poking through, and they were thankful they'd missed that bit of weather as it would have made traveling harder.

Ruth got more and more cheerful as they neared her parents' house. She suddenly brought the wagon to a stop at the bottom of a hill and hopped out.

Kid got out but looked confused as he didn't see a house.

"My folks live at the top of this hill, but it's too steep an incline for the wagon. We'll have to leave it down here and walk up," she explained. "I'm too eager to see everybody to unhitch the horses, but we'll come back for them."

As they started the trek upwards, Ruth chattered excitedly, "I can show you the creek where I played, the trees I climbed. I bet you Momma still has my gravel flipper."

He laughed. He hadn't pictured her a tomboy, but somehow it fit. "It sounds like you lived as wild as an Indian."

"I had my fair share of freedom," she agreed with a happy smile.

Before they could do anymore walking down memory lane, Kid felt the nozzle of a rifle thrust into his back. "Get your hands off my daughter, stranger," said a gruff-sounding voice.

"He ain't a stranger, Daddy; he's my husband."

The nozzle didn't move from his back with this piece of news, if anything, it pressed into it harder, causing Kid to question the wisdom of this trip.


	2. Chapter 2

"Don't worry; it's probably not even loaded," Ruth said, trying to set his mind at ease as they trudged up the rest of the hill. "Momma only lets him put bullets in it when he goes hunting."

"That's reassuring," Kid said dryly. If he had the habit of pointing guns at people for no reason, it was no wonder. He just hoped it wasn't also because the man was trigger-happy.

A small, wooden house with a stone chimney was waiting at the crest of the hill. On the porch was a lady he assumed to be Ruth's mother. She was a petite, short woman who may have been lucky to have been 5 foot. She stood there with fists on her hips and a long wooden spoon in hand. Large, wide eyes that were as blue as Ruth's observed the situation and looked none too amused by what she saw. She somehow managed to intimidate him more than the man with the rifle on his back.

"James McKenzie, you get your gun off that boy this minute!"

Apparently she intimidated her husband too because he quickly removed it, and Kid couldn't help but give a sigh of relief.

"It wasn't even loaded, Mary," he mumbled barely intelligible.

She must have had sharp hearing or they'd had this conversation before because she answered, "I don't care. That ain't no way to treat a body just cause you don't recognize his face."

"Sorry, son. You can't be too careful. Some desperate, thieving characters come through these parts on their way westward." He didn't sound like he was all that sorry.

The situation taken care of, Mary's eyes lit up with joy at the sight of her daughter and she ran to hug her like the prodigal son's father. "I knew you'd be back," she exclaimed.

"Well, I ain't back for good, Momma. This is just a visit. Besides, I thought you knew I'd get scalped by an Indian or be forced into being a saloon girl," Ruth said, her eyes twinkling with contained mirth.

"Don't get smart with me, young lady. You ain't too old for me to turn you across my knee," she said, wagging her spoon for emphasis.

Kid grinned. He believed the little woman would do it, and he also wouldn't be a bit surprised to find she used the spoon for more than stirring. It was apparent to him where Ruth had gotten her stubborn streak.

Mary took in his grin, seeming to just remember he was there. "Kind of nosy, aren't you? Who are you anyway? Did you escort my daughter here?"

"I did, ma'am." He left the telling of who he was to Ruth.

"This is Kid Cole, my husband," Ruth told her.

Mary's wide eyes got wider and she looked him over from top to bottom, trying to size him up with one glance.

James guffawed. "You're kind of regretting asking me to take my gun off him now, aren't you, Mother?"

"Oh, hush up. If they're married, they're married. Why didn't you write that you got yourself a husband? All we got was the letters you posted in Santa Fe. There was no mention of a man."

"We ain't been married long, and we figured by the time we posted the news and it got here, we'd be here instead," she explained.

"Oh, well, no use standing out here freezing to death," Mary said. "Might as well go inside where it's warm. How'd ya'll get here anyway?"

"Our horses and wagon is at the bottom of the hill," Ruth said.

"I'll have your brothers take them out to the barn just as soon as they find them nanny goats," though her tone was mild enough and her features schooled, the way she'd said nanny goats made it sound as if those words were the most vile, disgusting words in the English language.

Ruth chuckled. "Them goats still giving you trouble?"

"If they had any meat worth eating on their bones, they would've been in my stew pot months ago, and if they didn't produce milk, I'd be tempted to do it anyhow."

The living room was full of places to sit down, indicating the house was usually full of people.

Once they were all seated, the first question he was asked by his father-in-law was, "What do you do for a living?"

Ruth tensed but let Kid do the answering.

"Well, I guess you could say I'm a gunfighter, sir, but now I aim to help to help your daughter with her ministry."

Judging from her parents' expression, neither career choice was very acceptable to them. He supposed he had expected as much. Most parents dreamed of their daughters marrying doctors, lawyers, or successful farmers. Gunfighters weren't anywhere near the top of that list.

"Do you frequent saloons?" his father-in-law asked, continuing his interrogation.

Both Kid and Ruth flushed with embarrassment, and Ruth answered this time. "He don't anymore. He's retired from all that business."

That didn't raise him any higher in their estimation. He would just have to somehow prove to them that he would be a good husband to their daughter and do his best to get on friendly terms with them for Ruth's sake.

James directed a question to Ruth. "Is he better at shooting than you?"

Kid couldn't quite get his head wrapped around this question, which his father-in-law noticed. "My little Ruthie can outshoot any man in these here hills," said the glowing papa.

Kid's eyes widened with surprise and delight. That was a little fact she hadn't shared with him. He looked over at her, not able to hide his interest.

She looked very self-conscious and said defensively, "I still think guns can be dangerous in the wrong hands."

"It's pure gold in her hands," continued James. "You send her out to bring you something home to eat, why she'll do it quicker than a wink. It used to drive her brothers' up the wall."

He'd been starting to truly regret this trip, but it was suddenly appealing to him again. What other secrets was this fascinating woman hiding?

"You eat?" Mary asked her daughter. "I just finished making some dumplings."

"Yeah, we did, but I wouldn't mind a little nap in a real bed."

"Of course, honey. You go right ahead. You can have your old room," her mother told her.

Kid started to get up to follow, but James said, "Unfortunately, her bed ain't big enough for two. You'll have to bunk with her younger brother, Clyde."

Kid looked to Ruth, who gave a helpless shrug. He did not come all the way to Virginia, so he could share a bed with Clyde. He sighed. It was going to be a long 3 weeks.


	3. Chapter 3

Kid stared up at the ceiling. He had taken Clyde's bed though he didn't much feel like a nap because the alternative of being bombarded with more questions from Ruth's parents didn't quite appeal either.

He heard Ruth's footsteps outside his door after about an hour. Was it strange that he could already pick out hers above others? The steps were light but confident and energetic and he hurried to catch up with them.

She smiled when she saw him. "Did you get your nap out?"

"No, I can't seem to sleep good anymore without you being next to me."

"Aww, that's sweet. If it helps anything, Clyde don't snore as I remember. More of a teeth grinder, so you ought to get a little bit of sleep anyhow."

"You find this funny?"

"No, not really," she said, sobering a little. "But you got to learn to see the humor in things. I think God designed laughter to help lighten our load."

"You think you can get your parents to change their mind about our sleeping arrangements? I don't know how small your bed is, but I really wouldn't mind if you had to sleep on top of me."

"I don't know if that's our best argument where my parents are concerned," she said with a grin. "Might as well let them simmer a little. I'm sure they'll be more reasonable when they've had time to digest the news. In fact, they might already be more agreeable."

As they entered the living room to determine if it were true, two gray heads flew apart. Ruth's parents had obviously been deep in discussion, no doubt about him, and their expressions didn't look any more agreeable to him.

The awkwardness hung heavy but not more than a few moments because the door swung open and Ruth's brothers, who were strapping fellows as big as their mother was little, burst into the house, eyes searching for their sister.

The older one, who looked to be in his mid 20s with the same reddish brown hair as Ruth, found her first and picked her up, spinning her around.

"Put me down, you big oaf," Ruth complained as she smacked him lightly on the arm, but it was clear from her grin that she really didn't mind.

He set her down. "We figured that was your wagon down there, but we know you're our sister; there was no need to paint it on there," he told her with a joking smile.

She shook her head in mock exasperation. Then Clyde took his turn to hug his sister and she exclaimed, "Goodness gracious, you must have shot up 2 feet. I guess I can't call you my little brother no more."

His blushing cheeks causing his blonde hair and blue eyes to stand out. Kid figured he was maybe a year or two younger than him.

Robert's face was full of good humor at least until he took a good look at Kid.

Ruth noticed that he noticed and introduced them, "This is my brother, Robert, and this is Clyde."

Clyde looked as hostile as the others, but at least he gave him a nod which was far friendlier than any greeting he had received thus far in this house.

"And this is my husband, Kid."

He figured they'd already guessed that much even though they still looked a little surprised, but there was no slaps on the back or welcome to the family. Did he carry some mark that branded him a villain?

The door swung open again and a girl around his age came in. She looked a lot like Ruth except she had green eyes and lighter hair and was an inch or two shorter. "You'll never believe what Samuel—" she stopped midsentence. "Oh, I didn't know we had company."

"It's your sister's husband," James informed her. "A real live gunfighter from the wild, wild west and all the vices to go with it."

The sister paled. "Oh… that's interesting," she said in a pitiful attempt to sound polite but looking frightened instead.

He was starting to wonder if anybody in the McKenzie family was going to take a liking to him.

"Don't let Daddy scare you, Anna," Ruth told her sister. "Those days are behind him and he's always been about the politest man you'd ever want to meet."

Anna didn't look reassured by her sister's words.

Kid looked at the door almost expecting another sibling to pop through, knowing she'd mentioned another sister, though if none appeared, he wouldn't be inconsolable. "Where's you other sister?" he asked Ruth.

"Home probably. She's married with children. I expect though she'll be along before the evening's through. News travels fast in these parts. Folks tend to notice when there's a newcomer around and we're hard to miss in the painted wagon.

"I kept supper warm," Mary informed her children. "Did you get hungry yet, Ruth? You're looking a mite puny. You been eating out there?"

"Yes, Momma, but I could stand to eat a bite or two now if it'll make you happy," Ruth said, eyes twinkling.

"Well, come on then," she said, leading the way to the kitchen for her family.

The room cleared out, leaving Kid and Ruth alone, and he knew this opportunity for privacy wouldn't happen often in a house this small with this many people. He pulled her outside though for an added precaution. The frosty air stung their cheeks and hands, but he was too intent on talking to her to care.

"First things, first. Why didn't you tell me you knew how to shoot?" he asked.

"I didn't think it was important. It doesn't change my opinion on guns. Carrying a gun through some of them towns is an invitation to fight or be put in the position of having to take someone's life. I'd rather rely on the Lord to protect me."

"I would've liked to have known anyway," A look of challenge entered his eyes. "What do you say to a little friendly competition? My gun against your gun."

"You asking me to a gun duel?" she said with a laugh.

"I'm asking you to do a little target shooting. You ain't got a thing against shooting trees, do you?"

"You've got to be joking. Besides, Daddy likes to exaggerate and brag when it comes to his children. I'm competent with a gun. That's all."

"Still, I'd like to see you shoot." He was picturing her with a firearm and the image was stoking his fire. He played with a loose piece of her hair.

"Forget it," she told him. "I ain't playing cowboys with you."

He chuckled. "Are you still planning on staying here the whole 3 weeks?"

Sympathy filled her features. "You didn't exactly get a warm reception, did you?"

"That's an understatement," he said.

"I expect you're mostly just a shock to them. Give it time. They'll come to love you as much as I do." She fingered the collar of his shirt and finished with a seductive smile, "Well, maybe not quite as much."

He grinned and leaned down to kiss her, but the front door opened, blasting them with warm but unwelcome air.

"We was all wondering where you'd slipped off to," Robert said, looking none too pleased about catching them almost kissing. "Momma said the dumplings aren't worth eating cold."

"No, can't have cold dumplings," Kid complained.

Ruth put a hand on his arm, reminding him to keep his temper and he sighed with defeat. Was he not even going to be able to steal kisses on this trip?


	4. Chapter 4

Clyde was sleeping like a log. Ruth had been right about his not snoring, but the teeth grinding was driving Kid up the wall. Not only that, but the evening hadn't progressed any better though Ruth had tried to act as a buffer; her family just plain didn't like him despite his efforts to be polite and helpful.

He didn't think he'd ever get to sleep, but he must have fallen asleep at some point because a scream of laughter woke him up. From a quick glance he stole out the window, it looked to be about midmorning. Clyde was already up and gone.

He got up and smoothed his hair a bit. He had slept in his clothes, and despite its now wrinkled appearance, he went to find the source of the laughter instead of changing them.

The screams of laughter were coming from a little boy about 5 years old, who was curled up in a ball, as Ruth played a game of tickle monster with him.

"You're not going to leave again, are you, Aunt Ruth?" he asked when the tickles and laughter subsided. It was clear he adored his aunt and the thought she'd leave again troubled him.

"Sweetheart, I have to. It's my job to share Jesus and His healing touch with people, but if I could stay, I would."

He pouted. "Nobody else'll catch grasshoppers with me and there ain't even none to catch right now."

"Awww." She hugged him close to her and ruffled his hair. "I bet your little brother will catch grasshoppers with you as soon as he's able to."

"That'll be forever," he complained.

"Not as long as you think," she assured him. Then she saw Kid hanging in the doorway. "Good morning, honey," she said with smile that said how happy she was to see him.

She went over and rose on her tippy toes to kiss him on the cheek, despite her family's disapproving glares.

"You sleep like a city fellow," his father-in-law chided. "The sun's been up for hours."

He could have offered him excuses, but he could see he wouldn't accept any. He was just too bent on railroading him. "Sorry about that, sir."

He grunted in reply.

Ruth made introductions. "This is my other sister, Laura, and her husband Douglas."

Ruth's sister was a dark ash blonde with wide green eyes. She looked to be in her late 20s and her middle was rounded from pregnancy. She gave him a civil nod, her lips tight. It was clear the rest of the family had done made their opinions known to her.

Douglas, a slender man with thinning brown hair and brown eyes, looked neutral on the subject as did the golden-haired babe in his arms, but not about to go against his wife or in-laws in his favor.

"The baby is my nephew, Jacob. And this is my other little nephew. Danny, this is your Uncle Kid."

Ruth was by his side now instead of Danny's, meaning the little boy now had a tangible person to blame for his aunt's absence, and he cast such a sour, mean look his way with his bottom lip jutting out and his eyes squinted that he would have laughed if it hadn't been such a sorry situation. "He ain't my uncle," he said, folding his arms stubbornly.

"Yes, he is, Danny," his grandmother contradicted as she placed a hand on his small shoulder though she looked as if she wished she could say otherwise. "And you be respectful to him, you hear?"

Funny words considering none of his elders were being respectful. He could hardly blame the boy for picking up on that or for loving Ruth so much.

All the family was accounted for in the crowded room, but the door opened again with no knock and an elderly lady walked in. She would have been taller if she hadn't been hunched over by age. Her hair still had some black in it though it was heavily streaked with gray and the number of lines in her face hinted that she was probably in her 80s. He remembered Ruth had told him one of her grandmothers was still living and she'd talked about a whole host of aunts, uncles, and cousins. He groaned to think he'd only met her immediate family so far.

The old lady hugged her granddaughter. "Ain't you a sight for these sore, old eyes," she said with a Scottish lilt in her voice.

"Not as good a sight as you are to mine," Ruth returned.

"As happy as I am to see you, I came here with a reason in mind. Mrs. Norris is in need of some healing. I done all I can do for her, given all the remedies to her that I know of, but she's hanging onto life by a thread."

"I thought you retired from healing and midwiving, Granny?" Ruth commented, a sparkle in her eye.

"But folks ain't retired from getting sick and having babies. Your Aunt Bonnie's got the ague; she can't be midwiving or healing in that condition."

"Just let me get my cloak," Ruth said, going to retrieve the woolen garment.

"Momma, Ruth just got home and she's hardly had time to settle in," James said.

"Oh, hogwash, James. You just don't approve of the gift Ruth's been given."

James bowed his head, backing down, but Mary spoke up in his place, "The truth is, Mother Polly, that we'd rather see Ruth settle down here and not go gallivanting off into danger chasing dreams that you filled her head with. If the Lord wants to heal somebody, He don't need Ruth to do it."

"He doesn't need us, no, but He wants to use us, so He can rain down His blessings on us and so we can know the joy of being part of His work. Ruth's learned that at a tender age; you should be proud of that. And beside that, Mrs. Norris is ailing powerful bad. You wouldn't let a good neighbor die because of your pigheadedness, would you?"

When she phrased it that way, there was no way they could argue.

"Could you use another pair of hands?" Kid asked hopefully.

"This is my husband, Kid Cole," Ruth said to answer the question on her grandmother's face.

The woman's dark blue eyes roved him over like she was gazing past his appearance into his soul. "I like him. He's got a good face," she said at last, having reached her conclusion. "Of course, you're welcome to come."

Kid smiled with gratefulness and relief. Finally, a family member that didn't hate him at first sight. He could have kissed her weathered cheeks.

Ruth's grandmother linked arms with her and patted her hand like she was still a child. "I knew you'd make a good choice when you got married," she said. "Now let's go see what we can do to save that good woman or more like what God can do."


	5. Chapter 5

"It doesn't bode well," warned Ruth's grandmother as they stood at the door of Mrs. Norris' home. "She's had the ague and it's turned into the old man's friend. You know as well as I do that there's a good reason it's called that. Not that it's good for a young person either, but when a lady well into her 60s gets to this point, she's in the Lord's hands."

Ruth gave a nod of agreement. "Which is a good place to be."

As Ruth opened the door to the one room cabin, the strong smell of onions assaulted their noses. Her grandmother often used them to try and draw the infection out.

A bowl of steam, used to help Mrs. Norris breathe, set across on a tray her grandfather had carved for her grandmother's patients, so there would be a handy place to set items for a bedridden patient.

Kid hung back while Ruth and her grandmother approached the woman's bed.

"Fiona," said the woman weakly with dry, cracked lips as if she were surprised Ruth's grandmother had returned or maybe she was just surprised she had lived long enough to see her return.

"I told you I was coming back with my granddaughter." She dipped a cloth into the water and wet the woman's dry mouth.

"So you did." Her breathing sounded labored, short and rapid breaths.

Ruth reached out to smooth the woman's damp, stringy hair from her face. Her skin burned with fever. She began to cough hard and Ruth and Fiona both took a side and raised her over the bowl of steam to ease her breathing, not a hard task as she felt as light as a scarecrow and just as thin.

When the coughing spell eased up, Mrs. Norris asked, "Who's the tall, lanky lad hanging in the corner all dressed in black. Is he the angel of death?"

Ruth motioned for him to join them. "No, ma'am. This is Kid Cole, my husband."

"Ah. I don't know if that's a relief or not," the woman said in a tone that said she had all but given up. "But I'm happy to see you married, Ruth."

"Do you know the Lord, Mrs. Norris?" Ruth asked.

"I've known the Lord longer than you've been alive," the woman returned.

Ruth smiled, knowing she hadn't meant it in a snippy way. "Do you believe in His power to heal you?"

Doubt came into her eyes with that question. "I don't know that I do, lass." A shorter fit of coughing hit then she continued, "Certainly I suppose He could heal me, but what would He want with a dried up bag of bones like me? All my family's gone home. Maybe it's about time I was going there as well."

"You have family here, family in Christ, and the Lord uses men and women of all ages. Was David too young to slay a giant? Was Moses too old to lead the people of Israel? 'They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; To shew that the Lord is upright.' Would you deny the Word of the Lord?"

A smile turned her lips upward. "I guess I can't, can I?"

"It could be, Mrs. Norris, that He's ready for you. It could also be that He's waiting for you to have enough faith to trust Him to be the Physician of not just your soul, but your body."

Mrs. Norris reached out and Ruth took her hand and used the other hand to place on her forehead while Ruth's grandmother took Mrs. Norris' other hand.

"We pray, Lord, for Your healing touch on our sister," Fiona prayed.

"Let her feel Your power in her," Ruth added and then opened her eyes. "Do you believe He can heal you, sister?"

Her eyes began to shimmer with tears. "I do."

Mrs. Norris' skin began to cool to the touch. "Praise God," Ruth said.

"Will you read to me the psalm your verse was in? It was from Psalms, wasn't it?"

"It is," Ruth answered. She sat down on a stool by the bedside and opened her Bible and began to read the passage.

Fiona inclined her head for Kid to follow her to the fireplace. "Likely she'll soon be ready to take some tea. Might as well make ourselves useful. Mind building the fire up?"

Kid picked up the poker and shifted the burning wood around before adding another log and blowing with the bellows. "I've seen Ruth heal before, but it never fails to amaze me."

"Ruth doesn't have a magic power. She simply has the ability to help people believe in the Lord's promises and get them fired up for God again."

"She does that," Kid agreed.

"You seemed like you was having some difficulty with your in-laws when I come in," she commented as she hung a pot of water on the hook over the fireplace.

"Well, not all of them," he said with a wry smile. "Namely you."

She nodded knowingly. "I figured as much. James isn't a hard man. He just loves his little girl. He and Ruth have always been close, closer than he has been with his other children, not that he doesn't love the others just as much, but sometimes a parent and child click for whatever reason. She was his shadow when she was younger like another son really and anything crazy 'daddy' did whether it was shooting a gun or floating a rickety boat down the Holston, why Ruth had to do it too. And them two loved their practical jokes."

He raised an interested eyebrow. That was something else he didn't know about Ruth.

"You ain't never seen a funnier sight then when she and James released a piglet in the parlor. They shaved its hair off beforehand, making it as smooth as a baby's bottom and about the ugliest looking piglet you ever seen in your life, and it come running and squealing right through the parlor were Laura and her young man were courting."

Kid smiled, picturing the mischievous, tomboyish girl that Ruth had been.

"Oh, Laura, pitiable girl, about died of embarrassment, and Mary gave James and Ruth a tongue lashing that they ain't seen the like of since, especially because it got mud all over her best rug." The old lady giggled. "It was funny though. They both got that sense of humor in them, but more than that James was protecting his little girl, you understand. Letting that suitor of hers know he kept a close eye on them and testing his staying power. You'd have to love the girl to want to get hitched up to a crazy family like this one. Well, that chance to look over the man that wanted to marry his daughter was missed with you. It couldn't be helped, mind, with you being on the other side of the continent, but there it is. So you'll have a harder time with him than Douglas had even if you have a perfect, squeaky clean past."

"So I have to find some way to let him know that I'm a man of character, a man he can entrust his daughter to, if I ever want to make friends with him."

"You do, indeed. And the Lord be with you, cause I don't have the first idea how you can go about that, but if you can win that son of mine over likely the others will follow suit with their approval. And who knows, maybe you'll win Mary to your side first and she can help your cause. She'd be a strong one to have in your corner."

"I think I'm pretty lucky to have you in my corner, Mrs. McKenzie."


	6. Chapter 6

Kid spent most of Saturday chopping wood while Ruth visited with her family without him. He'd caught a warm day for December and was able to do it quite comfortably. He had to admit that he enjoyed getting to work out some of the frustration he had been feeling with the ax.

As late afternoon came, so did Saturday baths for church on Sunday. Ruth volunteered to go last since she still had grime from traveling. Then she went to visit with Mrs. Norris. When her family had finished, he emptied the dirty bath water and not only refilled it with water but with water he'd let get warm by sitting on the hearth. He'd brought the metal tub to her bedroom and lay in wait to surprise her with it. He didn't have to wait long because of all the time it had taken to get it ready.

"What's this?" she asked with such a look of delight that it made all the backbreaking work worth it.

"It's a bath all of your own." He shut the door and moved her hope chest in front of it for added protection since there was no lock on the door.

She eyed him suspiciously as she laid her cloak on her bed. "Do my parents know about this?"

"Of course. You didn't think I could sneak a tub and dozens of bucketfuls of warmed up water in here with nobody noticing, did you?"

"Maybe not, but I'm sure that they didn't mean for you to stick around and watch me."

"They only said they didn't want us sleeping together. They didn't say nothing about not taking baths together," he said with a roguish grin. He moved in front of her and began unbuttoning her dress, a move she didn't protest. Then he moved behind her and began undoing her stays. She removed her pantaloons and the pins to her hair herself and then slipped into the tub.

She immersed herself under the water and then leaned back against its rim. "This is heaven. It's starting to get chilly again with the sun down."

He crouched down after rolling up his sleeves and ran his fingers through her hair to smooth it out and remove any grit that might have lingered there. Then he pinned her hair up in a sloppy, but efficient updo. He drank in the sight of her pale, freckled shoulders before placing his hands there. "You're tense, baby," he commented before he began to kneed them in an effort to help her loosen up.

She closed her eyes and craned her neck to help in the effort and because she was enjoying the massage. When it began to work its magic, she responded, "Well, it ain't been quite the homecoming I expected. I'm sorry you felt you had to hide yourself today." She picked up the bar of homemade, lye soap.

He took it from her and glided it down her wet arms and then made his hands into scrubbing tools. "I just thought you'd like to visit with them at least one day without tension hanging in the air."

"So much for that. Things were still tense. I have a feeling it might be that way the whole trip. I thought a couple of days would have given them time to adjust."

He laid a kiss on her bare shoulder and began soaping lower portions of her body. "Maybe I shouldn't have told them about being a gunfighter and hanging out in saloons."

"No, I wouldn't want you to hide it," she said, reaching a hand back and stroking his jaw line. "It's a part of who you are, and your testimony glorifies God, showing the kind of life He can and does save us from. And it ain't just you they disapprove of, it's me too."

"They all love you," he said before nipping playfully at her earlobe.

"I know. It ain't their love I'm lacking. Just their support of my calling. I thought maybe things would be different after seeing I'd survived a year and had some successes."

"Frankly, honey, it doesn't matter what they think. Only what God thinks. And at least you have your grandmother's support. She's a good woman."

"You sound smitten. Should I be jealous?" Ruth teased.

"Well, you know how I like older women."

She laughed and briefly turned to playfully splash him.

"Seriously though. You're lucky to have her. I never knew my grandparents."

"I do thank God for her regularly. I don't know that I would've had the courage to strike out on my own without her. Believe it or not though, my parents are good people too."

"I believe it. Everyone's got their imperfections and I don't blame them for being overprotective with you. You are a treasure," he said, wrapping his arms around her.

She turned around so that she faced him. "I think I've been scrubbed everywhere there is to be scrubbed. You should get in here before the water cools down completely, and I can return the favor. Help you with your bath. Hand me a towel, so I don't drip all over the place."

"I've got a better idea," he said, unbuttoning his shirt. "Why don't I join you?"

"I don't think the tub was made for two," she said with a smile.

"That's what makes it fun," he said unperturbed. He leaned in to kiss her and she responded ardently.

A hesitant knock sounded on the door. "Ruth, are you in there?" Anna called.

Her lips stretched into a smile and Kid groaned against them, not wanting to pull away. She did though and he shook his head to signal she should say no.

"I'm just finishing up my bath. Did you need something?" Ruth asked.

"Momma and Daddy need to discuss something serious with you before church tomorrow. With you and your husband. Do you know where he is?"

Kid started to open his mouth to respond, but Ruth covered it with her wet, soapy hand. "I haven't the foggiest, but I'll find him."

She didn't take her hand off until she heard her retreating footsteps.

"What'd you lie for?" he asked with an amused grin as he put his shirt back on. "And with church only hours away. You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Ruth McKenzie Cole."

"It was either that or let my innocent little sister know you were in here while I was bathing," she said, taking the towel that he handed her.

"And unfortunately, that's all that happened. Whatever this serious thing is, it better be good."


	7. Chapter 7

Ruth's parents, brothers, and youngest sister were all solemnly seated and waiting on them.

Ruth and Kid sensed it would be a long conversation and sat down.

"I was delivering wood to some of the shut-ins," Robert explained, "and heard that word going around is you're a witch what with you bringing Mrs. Norris off her death bed like you did."

Ruth chuckled at the ridiculousness of it. She didn't know what she'd been expecting, but this wasn't it.

"It ain't a laughing matter," her father groused.

"I don't reckon it is," Ruth said, "but God's the one that healed her, not me. It just wasn't Mrs. Norris' time yet. Pure and simple."

"We know that and you know that, but they don't," Robert said, "and you ain't going to convince them that all you did was say a little prayer."

"A little prayer? Prayer is powerful. A lot of people pray, but they do it out of habit or approach it like they're asking a genie for a wish. They don't really believe that God can and will give them the answer to their prayer. Might not be the answer they want, but I find the closer we get to God, the closer our prayers line up with His will."

"Again, that's all well and good, but it don't fix the situation," Robert said.

"What situation? It's not like they're going to burn me at the stake or dunk me in the river. "

"No, of course not," her mother said, "but you don't think some fool might take it into his head to scare you a bit or, God forbid, even do you some kind of harm? There's a couple of idiots I can think of who would be mean enough to do that."

Kid's hand automatically went to his gun. It'd be over his dead body before anybody laid a hand on her.

"And when people get scared enough, they can turn into another critter entirely no matter if they're people you've known your whole life, and the truth is, people know that Mrs. Norris is—was about to die and now she's up walking around completely healed," James added.

Her mother's forehead was wrinkled with worry. "Maybe you ought to stay home tomorrow until the excitement dies down."

"No, Momma, I will not. That'll convince them they're right, and I ain't going to be kept from worshiping in church just because there's some people that don't believe God still performs miracles of healing."

"She's got a point. They never did anything to Miss Black," Clyde said with a shrug, "and everybody knew she was a witch."

"She was just a harmless old lady who liked her solitude and herbs," Ruth contradicted. "I used to go talk with her when I was a kid, and she said the only reason she didn't go to church was because everyone was afraid of her, kids especially, and that was a crying shame because she was one of the nicest people I ever met."

"That was a shame," Mary agreed. "Dear Miss Black was a little slow, but the community should have treated her much better than they did. However, that witch charge was started by children. Yours was started by a miraculous healing. There's a big difference."

"She'll be safe," Kid said in a clipped tone that suddenly made his past very real to her family. No one doubted he would hesitate to use his gun and a heavy silence fell.

"Well, I'm done discussing this foolishness," Ruth said. "I'm going to get started on the dinner for tomorrow, so we can all have a day of rest. I think we've all earned one."

"I'll help," Anna said, standing up and looking eager to talk to her sister alone.

Ruth and Anna went into the kitchen while Kid went to take his bath.

Ruth opened the stove and threw some wood shavings in. Then she struck the flint and steel together. It created a shower of sparks, but the enthusiastic movement caused the flint to fly into the stove. She got down on her knees and felt around for it, not having much success, she stuck her head in.

Anna was kneading the dough their mother had started earlier in the day, but she was watching Ruth's antics like a hawk. "Is that smart to stick your head in an oven?"

"It ain't been used since breakfast. It's as cool as anything in here," came Ruth's muffled voice. "Besides, I don't think anyone's libel to come along and push me in even with this witch thing."

Anna's eyes narrowed accusingly. "Why do you always have to cause a spectacle no matter what you do?"

"Just talented that way, I guess," she said lightly until she pulled her head back out and saw her expression. She was taken aback by it and was unable to hide her hurt. "You're serious."

Anna's face softened. "I know you don't mean to, but you do. You stir up controversy and drama like it's a perfume you wear. And you're so outspoken and…abrasive. You don't care about what people think, but I do." She was vigorously kneading as she spoke.

Ruth took the dough from her and stuck it in the pan. "I think you've kneaded the blame fool out of it." She tried again with the fire and got it going this time.

They finished the rest of the Sunday meal preparations in silence.

Once everything was heating up, Ruth asked, "What is it you're trying to tell me exactly?"

"I'm just asking you to be more normal or at least to be as normal as you can be. Just keep quiet when we're at church. You can be quiet for a couple hours, can't you? Give people some polite greetings and leave it at that. Don't make this latest drama any bigger than it has to be. You see, there's a fellow I like, and I don't want him to think I'm anything like you. "

The words stung. Ruth hadn't realized she was an embarrassment to her younger sister. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. Maybe this trip had been one big mistake. She hurried to the safety of her bedroom before her burning eyes gave way to tears.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Dedicated in loving memory of my pastor, who taught me of the need to share the good news and inspired me to grow closer to Christ.

sss

Kid's hair was damp from his bath and he sat on her bed, waiting for her. Ruth had forgotten that he was likely in her room and she quickly turned around and wiped her eyes before she began unbuttoning her dress, hoping he would think she was just getting ready for bed.

He got up and gently turned her around; he couldn't help but notice her red eyes and puffy eyelids. "You're crying."

"It's nothing," she said, her shaky voice belying her words.

"It's not nothing. Who upset you?" His dark eyes were swirling with anger at the offender. "I'll find out from your family if I have to."

"Anna just had some things she had to say to me is all."

"Like what?"

"Just that I'm too outspoken and that I tend to embarrass her. Nothing too uncommon between sisters, I guess, but I thought we were closer than that. I'm not sure she even missed me."

"Well, you say the word and we'll leave. I don't like this witch business anyway."

She shook her head. "I couldn't leave after I promised my family 3 weeks. I'll be fine."

She finished slipping off her dress and then climbed into bed under the thick quilts.

Kid raised the corner of the covers and crawled in with her. She wrapped her arms around him and nestled in closer, which brought her a measure of comfort. "What about my parents?"

"I don't care what anybody says, I'm not leaving you. They'll have to drag me away." He kissed her forehead. "She was right about one thing. You do have a big mouth." Her mouth dropped open a little in surprise and he smiled at her. "But I love that big, sweet mouth." He laid tender kisses on the corners of her mouth and then on her lips.

She laughed through her tears.

sss

They all piled into the McKenzie wagon and rode the 5 miles to church. The general store and church were the only buildings that made up the town, if you could call it a town.

The little church looked as austere as the expressions on Ruth's family's faces.

3 bearded, older men blocked the door as they climbed the stairs to enter, obviously having lain in wait for their arrival.

"Ya'll can all come in except for Ruth McKenzie. We don't need her kind here," said the man in the middle.

Kid's eyes narrowed. "And just who's going to stop her?"

The men didn't seem the least bit intimidated as his reputation wasn't quite as well-known here. Before things could escalate, however, Mrs. Norris had arrived and quickly assessed the situation. Her eyes zeroed in on the leader of this group. "Get out of the way, Michael Campbell. There's folks here trying to get to church."

"I'm happy to see you're better, Mrs. Norris, but it ain't natural how it happened. It's the work of the devil."

"Since when does the devil go about healing people in the name of Christ? The only place the devil's working right now is in your heart. Now move."

Seemingly chastised if not totally appeased, he and his friends moved out of the way.

They all took a pew near the front and the service began almost as soon as they took a seat.

The sermon was dry and the pastor's cadence never varied. He was no great orator and wouldn't win any prizes for flowery words or delivery skills, but he was preaching the word of the Lord, and he supposed that was all that really mattered. He fought to stifle a yawn.

He looked over at Ruth. She was sitting on the edge of the pew as if straining to keep from missing a single word, soaking it in like it was precious, life-giving water in a dry desert. He smiled and thought to himself how much he loved this woman.

He wasn't the only one looking at his wife he noted. She was a greater subject of interest than the topic of the sermon, and people seemed to be trying to determine from her appearance and behavior if she was really a witch or not, but she paid them no mind.

It was a welcome relief to Kid when the hymn singing began.

When they reached the door, she shook the pastor's hand. "It was a wonderful sermon. It gave me a lot to chew on."

"Thank you," he said with a formal nod. "It's good to see you again." If he'd heard the rumor, he gave no indication.

Her eyes caught sight of the river behind the church when they came out, the place where she'd been baptized as a teenager, which caused her to think of their previous pastor, who had passed away just a few months before she'd left.

He had been the kindest and humblest of men. His hands had been rough from labor as he had always been ready to use them to help a neighbor. Though he lacked a scholar's hands, he was extremely knowledgeable about the Bible and his heart was as well-used as his hands and mind. The very thought of what the Savior did could move the large man to tears, but he didn't lack a backbone. There wasn't a soul he met that he didn't gently deliver the Lord's message of love to, including her, and he never failed to preach what his flock needed to hear. He had been a true and faithful servant of his Lord with a ready ear when she needed to talk. He had encouraged her in her walk and calling, and she couldn't wait until she could sit down and talk to him again and tell him how his influence had helped her and what it had accomplished for the kingdom.

"Thank you, God, for the people You send to us in our lives to help us on our way to You," she whispered reverently.

One of those said people was beside her right now. She slipped a hand into his, drawing on his strength, pleased she wasn't an embarrassment to her husband or to God.

Kid squeezed her hand affectionately. The rest of the McKenzie women were all quiet, dignified women, at least in public. He could see how the personality differences might cause some conflict in the family. The exception being Ruth's grandmother, who seemed to be a hardy, friendly Scotswoman. She flitted from family to family asking after everyone's welfare much like he expected Ruth would be doing if not for her conversation with her sister, which might have been just as well as people were giving her a wide berth as if she carried the plague.

"I want to go say hi to Laura," Ruth said.

He released her hand and she made her way over there. After exchanging hugs of greeting with her nephew and saying hi to her brother-in-law, she asked, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure." Laura followed her a few feet away from everybody.

"Do you think I'm an embarrassment?" Ruth asked straight out.

"No, but I'd be lying if I said you were never an embarrassment. You were a pain and a half growing up, but then I think you were all pains; it comes with being younger siblings. What brought this question on?"

"Just something Anna said last night."

"Don't pay it any attention. Anna thinks she's all grown up, but she's still got some maturing to do. You know how girls that age are. They think the world revolves around them and that the least little thing their family says or does is a reflection on them."

Her gaze went over to said sister. "Is that the fellow she's courting standing with her?"

She nodded. "Moved here a little after you left. They've been as thick as thieves."

"Well, at least it don't look like he's going to shun her because of me."

She gave a laugh. "Is that what she told you?"

"Something along those lines," she mumbled.

Laura reached over and hugged her sister. "I'm so happy you came to visit. I've missed you something terrible. I'll see you up at the house after Danny get changed out of his good clothes."

The ride back was as somber as the ride there.

Mary was the first to get out of the wagon when they arrived and start up the hill, eager to get dinner on the table, and it wasn't but a couple minutes before they heard her scream. They all ran up to the house to see what the matter was, a matter which quickly became apparent. One of the nanny goats had escaped the pen again and was up on the porch. The goat's wide eyes gave it an air of innocence even as it chomped away on a beribboned straw hat.

"My hat," Mary cried. "That confounded goat has my hat." She was using her Bible to thump on the poor creature, trying to get it to release it. "I'm going to kill me a goat," she raged at last, realizing the hat was past saving.

Robert rescued the animal by scooping it up and toting it down to the barn.

"My best hat ruined," she bemoaned, picking up the chewed-up article.

"I'll buy you another one, Mother." James had trouble hauling the woman into the house, who couldn't have weighed more than a 100 pounds and who wasn't that far from the door.

"He better hide that sucker good cause I'm ready to try my hand at goat stew," Mary declared.

Kid tried to hide a smile. If he was that goat, he'd be afraid, very afraid.


	9. Chapter 9

They had just sat down to dinner Monday afternoon when there was a knock at the door. Mary opened it, but almost the whole family had come into the living room to see who it was. The man gave her a quick hello before bypassing her and hugging Ruth, who was careful not to let the hug linger.

"I didn't get a chance to tell you after church yesterday, Ruth," the man said, "but there's still plenty who think this witch malarkey is nonsense and I'm one of them."

"Thank you, Mark," she said, giving him a grateful smile.

Kid wondered if the man was a cousin. There were lots of relatives he had yet to meet.

"Ruth is married now," Mary said with a pointed look and frown, which quickly put to rest the notion that he was just a cousin.

Kid wanted to pick that little woman up and hug her. Was she beginning to warm up to him or merely trying to uphold propriety in her house?

"So I hear," was the man's blithe answer.

Kid's fingers curled into a fist, a fist that wanted desperately to plant itself into the man's face.

"Mark," James exclaimed like he'd found a long lost friend, having come to see what the holdup to his eating was. "Stay and have dinner with us."

"I reckon I could if I wouldn't be imposing," Mark answered, the sound of eagerness in his voice stronger than the polite reserve he was trying to project.

"Not at all," James answered for everyone.

As the family began heading back to the table, Kid took a hold of her elbow to signal to her to hang back. When everyone had cleared the room, he said outright, "He is in love with you."

"He was sweet on me at one time—" she began.

"Was? That man is sweet on you," Kid corrected.

"Well, it don't matter if he is or he isn't, you're one I love. If I'd wanted to marry Mark, I wouldn't have left."

"Does he know that? It's not you I doubt, it's him."

"I'm sure he does." She gave him a side hug. "But you're cute when you're jealous."

He followed her in, wearing a frown. Mark had wrangled a seat directly across from her, but Kid still had his seat beside her.

He didn't like the way Mark watched Ruth's every move as if he was committing it all to memory and as if she were the most fascinating being he'd ever met. He stabbed the meat and potatoes on his plate with a vengeance.

There was polite chatter all around the table, none of which included him as per usual except Ruth's occasional attempts to include him.

"Remember the time we snunk into the old haunted cabin and scared Joan Campbell out of her wits by making her think the place really was haunted," Mark asked Ruth.

She chuckled. "Very well. Momma tanned my hide good for that one, but that girl was as mean as a snake. Still, we oughtn't to have done it, but maybe we did her a favor teaching her not to believe in ghosts."

"She's still got a lot to learn. Her disposition ain't much improved now," Mark said. "And I think she's as superstitious as ever least ways she acts as if she believes in witches."

"Well, certainly there are folks that think they are. I rode a ways in a stagecoach with a fortune teller and I think she really thought she could predict the future."

"Well, anyhow, we oughtn't to be talking about Joan like this," Mary said, "when she ain't around to defend herself."

"You're right, Momma," Ruth agreed. "The Lord loves her as much as anybody sitting here at this table."

Mark launched into more childhood reminisces and private jokes causing Kid to feel more like an outsider than ever, which no doubt had been Mark's intention.

As if she could read his thoughts, her hand reached over and rested affectionately on his knee under the privacy of the table. She also smiled at him and he felt his mood begin to lighten, at least until Mark's next comment.

"Mother wants to have you over for a visit," he said, stealing Ruth's attention again.

Most mothers in the community would have cringed if their son had been interested in Ruth as a prospective wife given her tomboy reputation and what to them seemed like radical Christianity, but Mark's mother had always liked her. "That's sweet. I'll try to stop by if I got the time, and I'll definitely be sure to say hello next church meeting," she told him.

The dinner felt like an eternity to Kid as he stewed over Mark. When they all went back to the living room for more conversation and the warmer room, Kid pulled Ruth aside again.

"Try telling me now that man isn't overly fond of you."

She couldn't deny it this time. "I'll talk to him."

"Alone?"

"I ain't planning on running off with him if that's what you're worried about," she teased.

He rolled his eyes. "You got 3 minutes to explain things to him or I'm coming in there and explaining them for you."

They rejoined the family.

"Mark, can I see you in the kitchen alone for a minute?" she asked.

He took no time in joining her there.

"You made a plumb fool of yourself tonight; you know that, don't you?" she asked right off.

His face colored. "Maybe I did, but can you blame me? I thought you weren't going to get married, at least that's what you told me when I proposed, and then you come back hitched to a man that seems downright dangerous. I mean he carried a gun with him into church for goodness sake. How am I supposed to react?"

"I didn't lie to you. I didn't think I was going to get married, but sometimes God has other plans for us. And about Kid, he may seem to have a threatening, intimidating presence at times, but he's really the gentlest soul I've ever met."

Mark sighed though he didn't seem to believe that last statement. "Is he good to you? Are you happy with him?"

"Very. The Lord knew what He was doing when He sent him my way."

Mark smiled. "Does he know how lucky he is?"

She grinned. "Of course. We did have fun growing up together, and you'll always be a dear friend to me and a brother in Christ."

"Just not your husband. I'm coming to terms with it," he said with another sigh.

They went back to the living room and from the doorway they had the perfect vantage point to see out the front window and what they saw was black-colored smoke twisting and curling up from where the barn was located near the bottom of the hill.

"Fire!" shouted Ruth and Mark simultaneously.


	10. Chapter 10

The sky was a dusky blue as night was not far behind and marred by the smoke, meaning there was no time to waste. They'd all brought buckets and any other viable containers down from the house.

As they neared the barn, James said, "I'll free the animals and then we'll see if we can get it out."

"James, no!" Mary shouted, not wanting him to risk his life for the animals, but he ran into the smoky barn, heedless of her objections for once.

Ruth and Kids' horses, the mules, and the goats that all shared space in the barn came breaking out, the horses and mules especially in a nervous state. The men grabbed them and tried to calm them down, which was no easy task while the women got the goats. James came out last, pushing Ruth's wagon out that he had filled with the farming equipment that was on the expensive side. He seemed fine if a little breathless. They then proceeded to tie the animals up and pull the wagon as far from the barn as they could.

Mary looked furious with her husband, but there was no time to talk if they were going to put the fire out. They'd all seen fires before and knew how to fight them. They formed a line with the women closest to the creek and they passed the filled containers along. They passed water until their arms began to ache.

Just as it was beginning to feel useless and a lost cause, Robert shouted, "Fire's out!"

There were audible sighs of relief and the line dispersed as they all went closer to see the damage up close.

Robert, Kid, and James were sweaty and sooty and smelled like smoke having been the ones closest to the blazes. The structure was standing but the inside was completely gone. It was rather like a fish that had been gutted, and a stiff breeze was probably all it would take to knock the fire-damaged walls over. It would have to be pulled down and rebuilt completely.

A fire in the barn didn't just happen with no lightening or lighting/heating of any sort. This fire was no accident and everyone knew it.

"This is my fault," Ruth said.

By the look on Anna's face she agreed with her even if she didn't voice it. Everyone else was quick to add their protests though.

"No, it's them blasted witch hunters', and if I find the person or persons involved, they're going to be wishing mighty hard I hadn't," James declared.

For once, Kid couldn't have agreed more with him. His eyes fell on Mark and he wondered if the arsonist was not among them, of course, that could have been his jealousy talking, but he certainly had opportunity and maybe even motive if he'd taken losing Ruth harder than any of them had ever thought. Still, Kid wasn't going to say it out loud, not until he had positive proof. It was just as likely the men who had blocked the church doors and he had to admit they were the more likely suspects. He planned on paying them all a visit tomorrow without Ruth's knowledge to get to the bottom of it.

"Maybe we should go ahead and leave," Ruth said. "They won't bother you if we're gone."

"You're not going to cut your visit short because of some cowardly scoundrel," her mother said. "This or anything like it won't happen again. Your brothers and daddy are going to keep a close watch on this place and catch whoever did this."

"And I'm going to do what I can too," Mark added more to Ruth than anybody else.

Kid put his arm around Ruth both to reassure her and to let Mark know any designs he had to comfort her on a more personal level weren't going to happen.

With that out of the way, Mary turned to James, hands on her hips, and said to her husband, "And you, James Stuart McKenzie, if you ever risk your life over something so stupid again, I'll… I'll," Mary sought momentarily to find a proper punishment to convey her anger and let him know she meant it. "I'll never fix apple dumplings again."

Apple dumplings were his favorite dessert. James fought to hide a smile, knowing it wasn't meant to be an amusing threat. He hugged her and she hugged back until her tears were under control then she stepped back to find an escaped goat gnawing on her apron strings.

"You even saved these sorry, good-for-nothing goats," she fussed as she freed her strings, but then she patted its head, meaning the goats were safe from the stew pot for a while yet despite her constant complaining and her chewed up hat.

"I'm just glad we ain't bought the seed yet," James said. "We're fortunate I had time to save what I did."

"Well, I better go before Momma begins to worry about me," Mark said. "Just let me know when you're going to rebuild and I'll be here to help. I might be able to house a goat or to for you in the meantime."

James slapped his shoulder warmly, "Thank you, son. That's mighty kind of you, but my mother don't use her barn much anymore, all she keeps is one mule, we can keep them there. I will take you up on your offer to help rebuild though. I'll go see what supplies I can get from the store tomorrow, but then the next day is Christmas Eve and Christmas. I guess that means we're looking at Friday."

"I'll be here," Mark promised before leaving.

Kid, Ruth, her parents, and Anna went back up to the house while Clyde and Robert hitched the horses and got ready to herd the other animals over to their grandmother's.

They all sat down weary from the event. Kid coughed hard likely from taking in too much smoke. Ruth didn't like the sound of it at all and brought him a tall cup of water from the kitchen.

"Thank you, baby," he said as he took the red clay cup from her. She stayed standing beside his chair and stroked the dark tufts of his hair, which seemed to soothe his coughing better than the cool water she'd brought him.

"I don't know if Ruth should be in a room by herself," Mary said slowly.

"Anna could move in with her," James pointed out.

"She could," Mary agreed, "but I'd feel better if her husband was in there with her."

James couldn't reasonably argue that Anna would be of more help than Kid if there were a more violent attack, so he relented. "At least until we catch the culprit."

They didn't know he had already spent last night and the night before in her bed. Clyde must have known, but he hadn't given them away.

"Her mother and I are just in the next room," James added. "We can hear anything that goes on."

On the outside it sounded like a reassurance that they would be near if there was any trouble, but it effectively killed any romantic notions they may have had.

"Her brothers and I'll also be patrolling the house in shifts. I know you like sleeping in late but you think you can take the morning shift?"

"Of course." He didn't mention except for that one morning he was always the first one up. He stood up, eager to get to bed before Ruth's father caused him to say something he'd regret and he thought his mother-in-law shot him a fleeting smile. Maybe helping to put the fire out had raised him a notch in her estimation. Whatever the reason for it, he was grateful.

After putting the cup away, he moved to the bedrooms with Ruth right behind him. The first thing she did when the door closed was to get on her knees at the bedside and he watched her lips moving in silent supplication. No doubt she was praying for her family's safety, but knowing her, she was probably praying for the crazed witch hunters too, for them to come to repentance. He readily admitted he'd rather see them on the other side of his gun first, proving the Lord had a lot of work left to do on him, but he couldn't help it. It wasn't a comforting thought to think that someone wanted to hurt his sweet wife.

The moon was full and luminous, allowing his eyes to search the hilly landscape for any prowlers. They would quickly learn there was more to fear from him than their imagined sorcery. His gun went from his belt to his hand. This would be the old black magic cast their way if they tried anything else.


	11. Chapter 11

Clyde took the shift after his and Kid went to find Ruth, who'd been helping her mother hang greens to give the house a more festive air. She'd taken mugs of hot coffee out to him every hour of his watch. Fortunately, it wasn't a bitterly cold day, and he'd built a small fire to warm his hands by.

She saw him coming toward the house and came out to meet him, which he was glad of. He had something he wanted to give her. He'd asked James if he had a extra gun for Ruth, and he'd enthusiastically brought him a beautiful, little pistol, a gift she'd been given for her 16th birthday. He held it out to her now and she eyed his hand like he was handing her poison.

"Take it," he said, his tone letting her know he didn't want to argue about it.

"You know how I feel about guns," she began.

"I know, but you don't know how much it would ease my mind if you carried one. Otherwise, I'm going to have to tie our wrists together, so I can keep track of you."

She gave a small smile but made no move for the gun.

"Can you show me a verse that forbids the use of weapons? God is the one that protects us, but He can use them towards that purpose, can't he? Wasn't it David that brought down a giant, not to mention wild animals, with a sling and a stone for God's glory? And I've seen many a circuit riding preacher with a gun."

She took it grudgingly. "I don't reckon I can argue with that logic, but sometimes I think you depend too much on that firearm of yours. Don't expect me to use it on anybody though. I can barely stomach using it on critters anymore."

"Well, hopefully you won't have need of it. You might be kind of rusty. You better fire it once just to make sure you still remember how."

"Why do I think this whole thing is just a ruse to see me shoot?" She expertly loaded the gun with a bullet he gave her. "I'll aim for the stump."

The dead stump was about a 100 feet away. She only took a moment to position the gun and consider the wind and then she fired. The bullet lodged itself dead center in the stump. He didn't know how fast her draw was but there was nothing wrong with her precision.

He grinned. "Is it wrong that I'm aroused by your shooting?"

"Yes," she answered unequivocally though her eyes were obviously twinkling. She had no place to put the pistol at the moment, so she laid it on the top of her Bible.

"You can put it in your reticule when you get back to the house. That way people won't know you're carrying it right away. Gives you an edge, not that it looks like you need one."

"I'll carry it in my drawers if it'll get you out of my hair."

"I can't promise you that," he said teasingly as he dug his hands into her hair and then coaxed her into looking up at him, so he could get a kiss while no one was around.

"Mmmm, you smell like pine," he said huskily after he broke the kiss. He hated to leave her with all his senses tingling, but he knew he had to. "I can't wait to see the house when I get back."

"Where you going?" she asked, suspicion lacing the question.

"I ain't seen much of the area. I'm just going to do a little walking. See what kind of animals I can find that ain't holed up for winter."

Ruth wasn't fooled for a minute. "You're not going to try to find the person behind the fire by yourself, are you? Cause a person who burns down a barn ain't playing around."

"You're right they're not and what's to stop it from being the house with all of us in it next time? I ain't going to sit and wait for him or them to come to me. I'm going to find them."

"I know you don't want me along, but what about taking my father or Robert with you?"

"I can handle the people I'm checking in on and I'm armed if there was to be any trouble."

"Men always think they can take care of themselves until someone goes and shoots them or beats the living daylights out of them." She shook her head and sighed. "Be careful, you hear?"

"I hear. Try not to worry."

She muttered her way back to the house.

He had worked it out of Clyde as subtly as possible earlier where Mark and Michael's houses were located. He started off for Mark's house first.

A plump, older woman opened the door. "Yes?"

"I'm looking for Mark."

"He's out with some of his buddies. You must be Kid Cole. Come in."

He wasn't too surprised she knew who he was, but he was surprised she had invited him in. It wasn't the worst idea in the world to talk with her; she might unknowingly let something slip and it was a chance to warm up.

"This about the fire?" she asked intuitively as she gestured for him to take a seat before following suit.

"Yes, ma'am. I know Mark must have passed the barn on his way to visit and I was just wondering if he'd noticed anything peculiar."

"I'm sure he would've told me if he had. No idea who done it then, huh?"

"Not a clue. I was hoping your son might be able to point me in the right direction."

"I'll certainly tell him you stopped by. Maybe if he has some time to think about it something'll come to him."

"Maybe."

She looked entertained. "I'm making you nervous, aren't I? You must know about Mark and Ruth."

"It'd be hard not to know it. They shared quite a few stories over dinner last night."

"Well, they got a long history. Don't mean nothing now to Ruth, but it still does to my son. Mark was so disappointed when she refused his proposal and left the valley. Still has the ring he proposed to her with, in fact."

He felt his face warm with further dislike for the man and he wished he wasn't finding out this information from Mark's mother; he would've never left them alone if he'd known, a fact Ruth must have been aware of.

"Ah well, I reckon things always work out for the best," she continued. "I think he kind of thought that she would be back once she realized how hard life is out west and how good we got it here. I ain't got no hard feelings over it though. I still like her. She's a good and godly girl. Fortunately, they seem to grow them that way out here. Mark's got his pick of brides once he gets over it."

"Well, thank you for talking to me, ma'am. I'm sure I'll see Mark soon."

She walked him to the door.

Despite his jealousy and given the kind of mother Mark had, he just didn't seem the type. Although if experience had taught Kid anything, it was that there was no type. A suave or timid man was just as likely to commit crimes, even to kill in cold blood, as a brutish or temperamental man. Only God could see the heart and know what a man or woman was capable of.

Michael's house was a longer distance away and he was thankful when he finally got there.

This time his knock got him the party of interest. "What do you want?" Michael asked gruffly.

He could tell in a minute he wasn't going to get inside this house. "I want to know where you were last night about 5:00 p.m."

"Here. Drinking. That answer your question?"

"You weren't at the McKenzie property?"

"No. Why? Something happen to your wife?"

"Something happened to the McKenzies' barn."

"I can't say I'm surprised." He smirked. "But if I wanted to get rid of the witch woman, I'd've went after her, not her folks. I ain't got nothing against the McKenzies."

Somehow Kid believed him. He turned to go.

"Might want to ask that witch of yours where she was. She probably did it herself with her hocus pocus."

He turned back around, his eyes glittering dangerously.

"Mrs. Norris might be fooled along with half the community, but I know what's natural and what ain't and what she did ain't natural. Could be a bolt of lightening from the Almighty that set the barn on fire too."

"My wife loves and worships God more fiercely than any other person I've ever met and if you ever get in even 10 feet of her, it'll be the last step you ever take." He didn't raise his voice; he didn't need to. A soft voice was able to communicate his seriousness and his anger just as well.

Michael reflected anger back but there was now a satisfactory trace of fear with it. Kid hoped that meant he wouldn't be any further trouble, but he had a feeling the trouble was only beginning.


	12. Chapter 12

The greenery hit his eyes and nose when he stepped into the house. There was the sight of green and the smell of pine everywhere you turned. Ruth had been anxiously waiting for him and pulled him over to the fireplace where he could warm up. She took his gloves off and put his ice-cold hands between her warm ones.

"You didn't tell me he asked you to marry him," Kid said irritably.

"You didn't ask and what does it change? So that's where you went, huh? What were you doing at Mark's?"

"Making sure he wasn't the one who set the fire. Unless you think your boyfriend is incapable of doing wrong?"

She smiled, which only irritated him further. "No, but I could have saved you some time. Mark ain't home. If you hadn't been busy stewing, he mentioned over dinner that he was going to help some friends of ours who just got married finish getting their fences up. They're having a tough time managing it I imagine. The ground's probably frozen solid."

"Good, old St. Mark seems to like lending helping hands, don't he?"

"He's always been the helpful sort," she agreed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Me? I seem to be drawn to the disagreeable, muley sort."

She managed to coax a smile out of him and he slipped his hands around her waist, feeling warmer already.

They were so absorbed in each other, they barely noticed as Clyde, his nose ruby red from being outside, shook his head and reluctantly joined them to take advantage of the fire. "Must you two always be clutching or pawing on each other?" he grumbled.

"We must," Ruth answered with a chuckle but let go and moved over so Clyde and Kid could take full advantage of the heat.

"I almost wish someone would set another fire, at least we would be warm. I can't feel my toes," Clyde complained as he stamped his feet to return feeling to them. "I swear the temperature's dropped since I've been outside. Whoever the barnburner is, he apparently has the brains to be inside somewhere where it's warm."

sss

They woke up Christmas Eve morning to a world of white. Kid wished it had come a couple of days ago. Then there would have been footprints. Ruth was standing at the window in her nightclothes, taking in the breathtaking winter scene.

She heard his rustling. "Beautiful, ain't it? 'Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.'"

He smiled as he nestled in behind her. Ruth had a verse for every occasion and he loved it. It seemed to offer him renewal just when he needed it. There was power in the Word, life. "God does paint a nice picture. Kind of crazy though. Just a couple of days ago, it was so warm, I thought spring was around the corner."

"Spring did come early last year. Killed the fruit trees cause they bloomed for the false spring, but there was a blessing in it too. Made for good traveling; I was able to get an early start." She looked up at him; her eyes sparkling with mischief and excitement. "You want to go sledding?"

"Sledding? I don't know. Skating maybe."

"The pond ain't froze over good and solid yet. Don't tell me you ain't never been sledding?" she asked in disbelief when she saw the hesitation in his expression. "Don't it snow in the Arkansas territory?"

"It snows, but my part of the territory is as flat as a pancake. No hills and it ain't much fun pulling your sister or brother through the snow," he said, sounding as if he spoke from experience.

"Well, we got to remedy that right away." She said going over to her clothes and warned, "Bundle up good."

They weren't the only ones who had made snow plans when they got outside. They were just in time to see Anna getting ready to get in an attractive sleigh with a harness covered in gleaming bells where her suitor sat waiting. The young man didn't come out to greet the family; he didn't even acknowledge them with a wave. Kid didn't know how he was getting by with that, considering James protected his girls like a vigilant, half crazy rooster.

Anna saw him and Ruth all bundled up. "Where ya'll going?"

"Sledding," she said, moving to the side, so she could see the sled she pulled behind her that Clyde had let them borrow. "You and your beau want to come with us?" she offered.

"Sledding?" Anna repeated with a wrinkled nose. "Sledding's for kids."

Ruth couldn't help but dissolve into a fit of giggles at the patronizing way she'd said it and Kid cracked a smile too.

Anna rolled her eyes. "You two really are children. You both deserve each other," she said before flouncing off for her sleigh ride.

"Oh well, her loss, I guess." Ruth said after the tingling sound of the bells filled the air. "I get more and more worried about that girl, but I reckon she'll outgrow her worry over what others think. That's what Laura seems to think anyhow."

"She's probably right. Why did we come down here instead of using the hill your parents' house sits on?"

"Can't be too careful what hill you choose. It can be a dangerous sport. I know of a girl that got killed sledding."

"Is that your way of enticing me into it? Despite my former profession, I don't enjoy brushes with death."

"The hill she went down was too long and steep; she picked up too much speed. We go down an itty bitty hill like the one over there, we'll be fine."

He followed her over to the hill that didn't look so itty bitty to him.

"Now you sit on it," she instructed. He did and she added, "I'll be able to steer us better if I sit in the front."

He scooted back and spread his legs apart to make room for her and she sat down between them. He wrapped his arms around her, so his hands wouldn't be flailing while she took the rope in her hands.

"I like it already," he whispered playfully in her ear.

"You ready?"

"You sure this is safe? Are 2 adults supposed to be on this thing?"

She answered by leaning forward to begin their descent downhill. It was a speedy but easy flight until the sled hit a stone near the bottom. It hadn't been visible with the wintery covering. The impact made the sled shoot upward, sending them tumbling into the powdery snow.

"Having fun yet?" she asked with a laugh from her new position on top of him.

"I am now. If this is for kids, I don't want to ever grow up," Kid said with a grin as he pulled her closer, barely feeling the cold snow under him.

She gave him a quick peck before running back up the hill with the sled in tow. He got up merrily and chased her, enjoying the game and glad Anna had turned them down. They sledded without further mishap but with lots of stolen kisses until they got too cold to sled anymore.


	13. Chapter 13

"Who's going to stay here?" Robert asked when it drew time for the Christmas Eve service.

"Everybody's going," James answered. "Ain't going to let them keep us from worshiping the Lord. And if any one of us stayed home, it'd add fodder to their gossip, saying we were becoming godless."

Mary nodded in complete agreement.

They all got their wraps and coats and blankets to make the cold ride bearable.

Kid lagged behind though, wondering if he shouldn't stay anyway to keep an eye out.

"Come on you're a part of this family," Mary ordered. Though she said it sternly her eyes glowed with warmth and he happily followed her outside. Pleased he hadn't imagined that his mother-in-law was softening toward him.

Clyde had gone to get the wagon and their grandmother and was waiting at the bottom of the hill. They'd also brought Mrs. McKenzie's dog, which James went down and got and brought back up.

He tied the dog in the front yard. "Anybody comes creeping around here, they'll think twice about hanging around." The large, rusty-colored dog seemed friendly with so many familiar people around, wagging his tail furiously and trying to plaster anyone near with dog kisses, but that would probably change without them there and his sharp teeth would be a deterrent.

The church was already packed full when they got there and they had to spread out to find seats. From some of the looks thrown his and Ruth's way and the way the folks on either side of them scooted down from them as much as was possible like they were leprous, the hatred and suspicion had only grown since Sunday.

As soon as the preacher took his place at the front of the church, Michael stood up. "Pastor, before this gets underway, we'll have you know that we won't stand for a mistress of Satan worshiping alongside good and godly people."

He could hear Ruth gasp beside him. It was bad enough calling her a witch but to call her a mistress of Satan. He took her hand, wanting to pummel the man but knowing it wouldn't solve the problem.

Michael wasn't done yet though. "That fire that burned down the McKenzie barn is God's judgment on her family for allowing her to remain in their midst. Isn't He just as likely to reign down hellfire on us next for allowing her to remain in our midst? She needs to be run out of our valley."

"Sit down," the pastor said fury in his eyes. "This is a house of God, not a den of vipers. Our thoughts should be focused on the Christ, not seeking the blood of the righteous."

There was no doubt now that the preacher was in Ruth's corner. Kid repented of any negative thoughts he'd had about the man. The words he'd spoken just now were as beautiful as silver and gold and maybe just as costly as the murmurs grew louder, some of them angry.

But it didn't kowtow the man behind the pulpit "If you can't worship in peace on this most holy of nights with all your brothers and sisters, it's best you leave now."

Roughly half of the congregation got up and left. As clear a picture as any of how divided the community had become over this matter, but the pastor acted as if he didn't even notice that the pews had become half empty. "Let's stand and open this service with the hymn 'Come Thou Long Expected Jesus'."

"Come Thou long expected Jesus  
Born to set Thy people free  
From our fears and sins release us  
Let us find our rest in Thee."

A more apt Christmas carol for the moment couldn't be found and Ruth speculated on whether the pastor had chosen it for that purpose or if it had been divine inspiration and God had known how the words would comfort her.

"Born Thy people to deliver  
Born a child and yet a King  
Born to reign in us forever  
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring."

Even as the song played and her voice joined with the others, she was warring on whether or not to leave. She didn't want to be the source of all this contention and division.

"By Thine own eternal spirit  
Rule in all our hearts alone  
By Thine all sufficient merit  
Raise us to Thy glorious throne."

Ruth felt peace and calm as the notes faded despite the tempest that was brewing around her. Like a quiet whisper, she got the feeling that she wasn't supposed to leave. Not with folks wondering if her parents had harbored evil and more importantly leaving the people of the valley wondering about the character of God. He wasn't ruling in enough hearts around here if so many could fall victim to the lies.

"Deliver us all," she whispered before settling in to hear the pastor speak of the first Christmas.

Back at the house, after they'd all taken off their winter trappings and had all had some hot coffee to warm them up, James asked, "You want to open a present now, Ruthie?"

It was an effort to recapture some of the Christmas cheer that had been present before so many of their old friends and neighbors had up and refused to stay for the service.

She smiled. "Nah, better wait on the rest of the family. Morning ain't that far away as late as it is, but I can't wait until Danny sees what I got him in Norfolk."

Robert feigned shock. "What's this? My impatient little sister can actually wait for Christmas morning for once in her life?"

Her smile grew wider. "Don't pretend you weren't just as impatient. Opening presents on Christmas Eve was a tradition long before I came along."

"All you children were impatient monkeys," Mary said, settling the argument for them. "It was the only way to get a good night's sleep to keep the pestering to open presents confined to the daytime."

"I'll see ya'll in the morning," Ruth said with a laugh as she kissed her mother's cheek.

There were echoes of good nights and Kid's own distracted good night as he followed her.

"Mistress of the devil," she muttered when they were alone and getting ready for bed. "I guess they must think you're the devil in the flesh then."

"No doubt that's what your dad thinks," he answered lightly.

She chuckled. "Well, I shouldn't hold onto such bitter, hate-filled words, I guess. Don't do a body a bit of good and the person that said them is to be pitied and prayed for. He always was a hard man but since losing his wife, it's made him harder."

"You think he burnt the barn down?"

"I don't know. As you saw for yourself tonight and Sunday, he don't try to hide his opinions. The person that burned the barn down was sneakier than that and don't want to own up to their actions. Course he could be using it to have a rallying effect calling it God's judgment, but although the man's many things, liar isn't usually one of them."

"That's kind of the impression I got when I went over there. You know the people around here well. Who's at the top of your list of suspects?"

"I really couldn't say. If you'd told me that half the folks around here would turn against me and brand me a witch before we got here, I would've thought you plumb crazy. I just couldn't begin to imagine." She yawned, ending the conversation. "I'm so busted down, I can barely wiggle."

She kissed him good night and then lay down. He felt too antsy and on edge to lay down and paced around the room like a caged animal instead. He couldn't even think of resting as he peered out the window.

"Come to bed," Ruth called at last, her voice thick with drowsiness. He turned to look and saw she had lifted up the corner of the quilt with her eyes still shut, not doubting he would make his way over.

He didn't know how she could sleep and said as much as he climbed into bed and wrapped his arms around her. "How can you sleep at a time like this? You saw how angry and fearful of you half the community is. Angry, scared people in numbers is about the most dangerous force I know of."

"Our fight isn't against flesh and blood but against spiritual darkness. I'm not worried though cause Daddy's on patrol and even if he wasn't, the heavenly Father is watching over us. No sense in losing sleep over what you can't do anything about."

Her serenity and insight must have rubbed off on him because the next thing he knew the light of dawn was streaming in through the window. He gently eased out of bed and crept over to the window, being careful not to wake her. He didn't know why he had such a desire to look out the window, but he felt a sense of dread even before he looked through the glass.

Despite his care, Ruth had woken up and was coming over to see what had caused the look of horror now etched on his face. He thought about blocking her view and somehow distracting her, but there was no way to keep her from finding out in the long run, better she knew now what they were up against.

If there had been any doubt that the fire had not been an accident, it was dispelled by the word 'witch' that had been written out in giant, bloody letters in the snow. They both stood staring at the gruesome sight, praying that it was only animal blood and not human blood.


	14. Chapter 14

They quickly got dressed to go outside for a closer look. James and Clyde were at the scene now too.

The source of the blood was easy to see. Most of the chickens from the henhouse hung from one of the deleafed white ash tree close to the house, necks broken and bodies drained like nightmarish Christmas ornaments.

His first thought was the person didn't have a lick of sense to try to pull this off in the snow as he scanned the ground for footprints, but there were too many tracks to distinguish one over the others.

"How did this happen?" James asked angrily, directing the question to his youngest son.

"I fell asleep," Clyde admitted shamefacedly. "I'm sorry, Dad. Sorry, Sis."

James' face lost some of its red. "Well, there's nothing to be done about it now but help get this mess cleaned up before the children get here and see it."

They all worked to cover the bloody letters with the snow and take the chickens down. Then Kid descended the hill to see if there might be more clues. 3 wagons set at the bottom of the hill now with relatives unloading their families and presents, making the snow at the bottom as spoiled as the snow at the top, but what he could make out in the distance all seemed accounted for, which brought an awful, horrible thought to his mind. He had assumed that it was someone on the outside, but what if it was someone within Ruth's own family?

At the top of the hill, he saw Anna and Mary now standing on the porch. He paid close attention to Ruth's younger sister, her face seemed as pale and shocked as the rest of them, but was it all an act? Sure she put on airs, but was she capable of such terrible destruction and what kind of sister did this? That wasn't a suitable defense though and he knew it. He knew as well as anybody about the bad blood that could be between family. The first murder in history had been between brothers.

But if not Anna then who? He didn't know enough about her brothers to rule them out. Had Clyde really drifted off to sleep? And Robert lived alone in the small cabin that Mary and James had first lived in before their family expanded. Certainly no one could account for where he was at all times. But what would be their motive? Surely they didn't think Ruth had paranormal powers and they both seemed to love her.

Anna's motive was clearer. Her sister was an embarrassment to her and she wanted her gone, but why would she burn down the family barn and cause such hardship to her parents, killing animals that her family depended on as a source of livelihood? And why would she go to such great lengths when her sister would be leaving of her own accord in 2 weeks?

He tried to recall where everyone had been before the fire, but he had been so preoccupied with Mark he couldn't really be sure if everyone had been in the living room. He did know that it bore watching.

Aunts, uncles, and cousins came in droves. There was no way he'd remember names even though he was introduced to them all. There was a flutter of activity and chatter. He knew he'd be drained before the festivities were through, but he didn't have to worry about it as much with Ruth at his side. She carried the conversations for him when he needed her to, and unlike him, her energy seemed to thrive the more people there were. They were perfect complements for each other in that way.

They'd all sat down with presents handed out to open, the children having the most gifts, when the door swung open unannounced and a portly man staggered in; he was full of the spirit, but it wasn't Christmas spirit. "I brought a kissing ball," the sloshed uncle declared as he held the ball of ivy and mistletoe up for all to see.

"Paul McKenzie, do you have any idea what day it is and you're desecrating it with your drunkenness," Fiona McKenzie reprimanded as she stood up and took the middle-aged man by the ear, causing the uncle to drop the ball. "I'll be back after I got this wayward son of mine home to sleep it off." Then they disappeared from the room.

"Might as well hang it up. No sense in letting it go to waste," James said, picking it up off the ground and glancing tenderly at his wife. The couple was affectionate though Kid had never seen them kiss. He'd gathered they weren't fond of public displays of affection and that even the hug she had given James when she'd found that he was safe was a rare display. If he caught her under the kissing ball, it'd be when no one else was around.

The kids had no trouble going back to opening the presents. They began to tear into their stockings and packages.

He and Ruth had made sure all the children had either candy or fruit from them. For her nephews she had gotten something a little extra, blocks for the baby and a magnifying glass for Danny.

"What's this, Aunt Ruth?" Danny asked, his body wiggling in excitement as he jumped over to where she was sitting.

"You can see them little grasshoppers better. See their big bug eyes and pursed little mouth." She made a silly, "grasshopper" face that it threw Danny into a fit of laughter.

"You going to hug my neck?" she asked with a smile. He threw his arms around her and she gave him a big bear hug. "It's from your uncle too," she added.

The boy shot him a dirty look, his good humor gone. If the boy had been old enough, he'd have been a prime suspect, Kid thought to himself with a smile.

"What do you say?" Laura prompted her son.

"Thank you," he said barely audible, his eyes cast downward.

"You're welcome," Kid said.

That out of the way, his joy returned as he went to discover the rest of his goodies. Looking through the magnifying glass, he exclaimed. "The candy's huge!" Making the adults laugh.

After the joy of watching the kids open theirs was over, they began to open theirs.

"What could it be? A hat maybe?" Mary asked of her gift from James, the shape of the package having given it away.

"Yep, it's just like Ms. Ethel's," he said.

Ethel Fletcher was the gaudiest dresser this side of the Mississippi. Her hats were always swimming in flowers and lace and feathers and anything else that could be affixed to a hat. Mary quickly pulled the lid off and was relieved to see it was a simple but elegant straw hat. "If you had, I'd've knocked the fool fire out of you."

James laughed. "Well, I had to surprise you somehow."

There were handkerchiefs, food treats, and other handmade goodies exchanged between the adults. Kid received a scarf Ruth had knitted for him, the first thing she had ever made for him, a gift he adored for that reason alone. He put it on even though they were in the house. Kid waited to give his present to Ruth last after Fiona had returned.

Rather than hand her a package, Kid took Ruth's hand and slipped a cool piece of metal onto her left ring finger. "I told you I'd get you a ring."

She breathed deeply as she held it up to the light. It was a simple band, silver and of a Celtic design. "This is my grandmother's ring. Granny, you shouldn't have given us this."

"I want it to stay in the family. Douglas already had a ring for Laura, so I want you and Kid to have it."

It fit like a dream, not too tight and not too large. "We'll treasure it. Thank you, Granny. And thank you, Kid," she said, kissing his cheek. "I couldn't think of a ring I'd want more in the world."

The day went on and Ruth shared stories periodically about what it was like in the land of cowboys and Indians for the children, some of them embellished for their amusement. They loved her for it and were following her around like the pied piper, peppering her for more tales.

He was glad when the kids all went for a romp in the snow. He worked her over to the kissing ball that James had hung.

"The children got all their sweets. You got a sweet leftover for me?" he whispered.

"I'm all out," she said.

"That's not the kind of sweet I wanted." He leaned down and kissed her, a quick one because there were people in the room.

She reached up and pulled one of the white berries off. "Better use those kisses sparingly. They're numbered today."

She went off to help get dinner on the table while he made uncomfortable chitchat with the relatives he didn't know. Luckily, it didn't take them long to get it ready. The Christmas dinner was fit for a king. There were 2 big birds and enough sides of every description to cover the long table and the assortment of pies and other desserts hadn't even made it to the table yet.

He got one side of Ruth and Anna got the other as they sat down to eat, though not at the table because of all the extra guests.

"You ain't told me much about your beau. I hardly even know his name," he heard Ruth say to her.

"Samuel. He's coming tomorrow to help with the barn." She didn't say it, but her eyes begged silently for her sister to be on her best behavior.

"I'll try to be good," she said wryly and didn't try to engage her in further conversation.

Even with a family that had descended on the house like a plague of locusts, there were plenty of leftovers when everyone had ate their fill.

Mary wrapped them up and put the food in a large basket. "Who wants to take these over to Widow Mason's?" she asked, coming out of the kitchen with it.

"I will," Ruth immediately answered.

Mary hesitated, not sure she wanted her away from the house.

"I'll go with her, Mrs. McKenzie," Kid said.

"Well, I guess she don't live too far away. Just be careful and quick," she said, passing the basket off to Ruth.

"You sure about this, Mother?" James asked, sounding less confident.

"What harm can they come to with Kid's skill? I reckon there are times it pays to have a gunfighter for a son-in-law."

Kid risked a hug that Mary didn't decline and he could feel James' eyes radiating heat.

"Aww, get on with you," Mary said, "and I mean what I said about not dawdling."

It was close enough that they were able to go on foot. They knocked on the widow's door and then hid around the corner of the house.

"Any particular reason why we're hiding?" he whispered.

"We're living the Word, not letting the right hand know what the left hand is doing, and I don't want them thinking I pulled the food out of my cauldron or some other such nonsense. Too, some folks have a harder time accepting charity from a person, but it's kind of hard to turn down an anonymous basket of food when you've got a house full of hungry children. Saves her pride this way."

The oldest boy answered the door and his face lit up at the gift basket. He gave a quick perusal of the area and then went back inside, basket in hand.

She smiled. "It just wouldn't be Christmas if you didn't give a gift for Jesus."

He could see what she meant. It did feel really good doing something for others. They made a wide arch to avoid being seen and made their way through a clump of trees. There was a rustle from one the branches above them. They both pulled out their guns, Kid a second or two faster. Then saw that it was only a squirrel, looking down as if trying to remember where he'd hid his nuts. They put them away again.

"This stuff's got me jumpy as a bullfrog. I'm going to put this pistol back when I get home."

"You didn't fire, did you?" Kid reasoned.

"No, but I could have."

He took her hand. "Hey, listen, baby, you ain't scared about what happened this morning, are you?"

"Scared for my family and a little angry at their cowardly ways. I'd like to have the person that did it in front of me. I'd have a few choice words for them."

"And they'd all be from the Bible, no doubt."

"Where else?"

He put an arm around her and they walked a little quicker back to the house.

Kid brought out his guitar before the evening was through. "Anybody ready for a little Christmas music?"

There were polite assents along with Ruth's enthusiastic one and he began,

"We wish you a Merry Christmas  
We wish you a Merry Christmas  
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year  
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin  
Good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year."

For the first time, the children flocked around him even Danny. He couldn't say that he minded.

"Oh, bring us a figgy pudding  
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding  
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding and a cup of good cheer  
We won't go until we get some  
We won't go until we get some  
We won't go until we get some, so bring some out here."

Almost everyone joined in on the chorus.

"We wish you a Merry Christmas  
We wish you a Merry Christmas  
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year."

"Not bad," Mary commented when it was through. "There's a dance Saturday night. You want to play there? I'll be playing along with a couple of my brothers."

"I'd be honored. Ruth told me how well you could play." Kid couldn't keep from smiling with delight; he really was becoming a part of the family.

There was a slew of Christmas wishes as the kin that lived nearby started off for home. The others who lived over the mountain were staying the night and getting their start at first light. There'd be an army of McKenzies and Shepards, Mary's side of the family, if anyone tried anything tonight.

Ruth's grandma winked at him before she left. "One down, one to go, I see."

"Might stay that way," Kid commented.

"Naw, he's a stubborn one, but he'll see how good you are for his little girl." She patted his cheek kindly and then headed for home.

"Why are you grinning like a possum?" Ruth asked when they were alone in her bedroom.

"There's a gift I ain't given you yet," he said huskily, moving toward her.

"The kissing's got to stop," she quipped even as she put her arms around him. "All the berries were gone last time I checked."

"Not quite. I stole a twig," he said, pulling the plant from his pocket and dangling it over her head. He kissed her soundly and deeply, exploring her lips and the inside of her mouth with fervor.

"I think that one was worth 2 berries," she kidded.

"Not a chance," he said as he pulled one off. "I plan to make each of these berries count."

He sat her on the bed and laid the sprig of mistletoe on one of the pillows, but rather than joining her there right away, he started dragging the furniture in front of the door and window to keep them from being so easily entered.

"Why are you barricading us in here? You think my family's going to come busting in on us or you think the witch hunters are going to try something on me next?"

"I think it pays to be cautious," he said seriously. Then more lightly he said, "And I'm ensuring that we can completely focus on the task at hand." He freed her hair and then wound her soft strands around his wrist before getting on the bed with her.

"Do you realize how many people are under this roof right now?" she asked.

"We'll be extra quiet," he said, as he used his free hand to unbutton and his lips on the sensitive spots of her exposed skin. "A week's too long for newlyweds to be apart."

"Is that so?" she asked, her eyes sparkling.

"That's so, Mrs. Cole."

"Fortunately for you, I happen to agree, Mr. Cole," she said, pulling him closer.


	15. Chapter 15

Ruth caressed his bare chest with her hand and then laid a feather light kiss on his lips. It didn't take him long to stir and respond to the kiss.

"This is the only way to wake up in the morning," Kid said with a sigh of pleasure. Then he flipped her over and began to nuzzle her neck. Her hand buried itself in his hair as she delighted in his lively exploration and then found her ring was caught.

"Hold still a minute. My ring's stuck in your hair," she said with a chuckle.

"So that's what they mean by ensnaring a man with a ring," he said with amusement.

"Who's ensnaring who?" She asked with another laugh then eased her finger out of the ring. Free of the entanglement, she slipped it back on. The smell of frying bacon had made its way into the room. "And from the smell of things, we better get a move on anyway."

"You think they would notice if we didn't come down for breakfast?" he asked, punctuating the question with a kiss to her chin.

"You really want my father to catch you sleeping in again?"

"Who'd be sleeping?" he returned.

She rolled out of bed anyhow and threw him his clothes, but he didn't make a move right away. He spent some time enjoying the view. "It's a good thing you wear such a high collar," he commented after she'd gotten her undergarments on.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she looked down to try and figure out what he was talking about. Then her cheeks flushed at the number of love bites around her collar bone. "Kid! What if someone sees this…"

He laughed. She still had some prudish ways about her despite their being married for a few months. "I wouldn't worry, honey, they're all down low and nuns don't dress as modestly as you do."

She shot him a look as she pulled her dress on and straightened her hair. She turned to go and saw her heavy hope chest was still blocking the door. "You going to help me move this?"

"I'd rather keep you prisoner, but if you insist. Let me get my pants on first though. Opening the door like this, wouldn't endear me to your daddy, I don't think."

"Probably not," she said with a grin.

In the kitchen, they sat directly across from each other at the table and they smiled every time their eyes met, thinking about last night, which seemed to put James in an irritated but silent mood.

"It'd be a better breakfast with eggs, but we'll have to be sparing with them," Mary grumbled as she sat their plates with biscuits, bacon, and dried apples in front of them.

"I'm sorry, Momma," Ruth apologized.

"Why? Did you do it?" she asked sharply.

"No, of course not, but—"

"No buts. The only apology I want is from the barn burner and the chicken killer, and I'd like to string him or her up in a tree."

"Momma," Robert said with a laugh as he buttered his bread.

"Can we talk about something else?" Anna asked with an exaggerated shudder. Then she noticed that Kid was giving her a look of suspicion, which she returned with a frown.

He quickly fixed his eyes on his plate, hoping she would dismiss it.

Mark arrived before breakfast was finished. "Isn't he the early bird?" Kid muttered when he heard him talking to James in the other room.

Ruth tickled him on the sensitive spot behind his ear as she walked by to say hello to Mark, her way of telling him to be nice.

Laura and Douglas also showed up with the boys. After breakfast, the men all got ready to go.

"Shouldn't someone stay up here and keep an eye on things?" Kid asked.

"Ruth and Anna'll be with us and Mary has a rifle," James answered. "Aim's not too bad either and she ain't afraid to shoot and ask questions later, especially if it means keeping her children and grandchildren safe."

What was it with these mountain women and their guns, he wondered. His mother and sisters were strong, hardy women, but they'd never handled guns as far as he knew.

It was a pleasant day temperature wise, but the melting snow left puddles to avoid. When they got down to the site, the first order of business was to get enough boards together. The men worked pairs James and Mark, Robert and Clyde, and Douglas and Kid and sawed the lumber. Ruth and Anna toted finished pieces over to a dry canvas, so it wouldn't touch the ground. Ruth in between times worked on nailing some of the boards together while Anna held the boards straight for her.

"You can wield a hammer too?" he asked in an entertained tone when he got a chance. "Is there anything you can't do?"

"When Momma wasn't teaching me to cook or sew or my letters, I was helping Daddy and the boys with their chores."

Laura came with a bucket of water and a dipper about halfway through the morning. The dipper made a circle around the group, Kid being last. When he raised the dipper to his mouth to take a drink, he spotted a small brown minnow swimming in circles in its limited space just in the nick of time.

He dumped it back into the bucket. "Very comical."

They all took note of the fish. James' guffaws making it obvious who'd slipped it in there. Douglas and Laura gave Kid looks of sympathy.

Kid stormed back to the boards and put his energy into hammering, all but splitting the wood. Ruth joined him. She didn't say anything to him just supported him silently until his temper cooled.

"Your father is very amusing," he remarked at last. Then Ruth pressed her lips tightly together, but he wasn't fooled. "You think it's funny."

A small chuckle escaped her lips. "It could've been worse, honey. You could've drank it."

"You bet I could've," he said, his anger returning.

"A minnow is better than a gun. Try to think of it as an initiation for son-in-laws. Poor Douglas had a pig run through the room when he was trying to get to know Laura."

"I know. I heard about that from your grandmother. She said you were in on it."

She looked a little sheepish. "I was 11 and it was my pig. If any sister should resent me, it should be Laura. I teased the poor girl out of her mind, but she's a well of patience. I wasn't in on this one if that's what you're thinking."

His temper cooled again. "I know."

"It is kind of a cute thing," she said, looking toward the bucket.

"We're not keeping it as a pet."

"Nah, I don't imagine it enjoyed almost getting drunk anymore than you enjoyed almost drinking it. I'll slip in the river on the way up to the house."

Samuel didn't join them until they were eating their lunch on the porch, the bottoms of their clothes and shoes being too muddy for Mary's tastes and none of them feeling like changing. Besides that, the low 60s was too mild a day for winter to miss enjoying it as they weren't likely to catch another for awhile.

"Nice of you to come when the work's about through," Robert joked.

Kid wouldn't have minded some brotherly ribbing like Robert had just done to Samuel, but Robert barely spoke to him.

Samuel only smiled in reply and greeted James before he indicated that he wanted to speak to Anna alone. They remained in sight but went over to the ash tree. Whatever he told her caused her to gasp.

"I've had my dinner. I'll meet ya'll down at the barn," Samuel said when they came back.

"Samuel says Ronald Campbell passed away," Anna informed them when he gone, looking specifically at Ruth.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't know him well, but he was Michael's cousin, wasn't he?" Ruth asked.

She nodded. "And one of the men that blocked our way into the church Sunday."

"So he was," she said, putting down one of the plentiful chicken legs that made up their lunch and wiping her greasy hands on her old skirt. "A real shame. I hope he's safely in the arms of Jesus now."

"They're saying that you killed him. Michael in particular is saying that you gave Ronald the evil eye. That he was as healthy as a horse and young to boot and now he'd dead because of you."

"That's plumb ridiculous. So now not only do I have the power to heal at my own will, I can kill with my eyes. Do people even hear themselves talk?"

"Ridiculous or not, that's what people think," Anna said, worried lines creasing her forehead.

"Ruth, this is spinning more and more out of control," Kid said in hushed, concerned tones.

"I know," she said with a sigh. "The dance is tomorrow. Maybe if I spend some time with people they'll see how absurd they're being."

"Maybe," he said though he sounded unconvinced.

Ruth's father and brothers looked simultaneously distressed and angry over the news and were talking about it amongst themselves.

The rest of the day was uneventful and when the sun had sunk low in the sky, the skeletal frame of the barn was there.

"If it'd been a summer day, the barn would be done," James groused. "It should be done in plenty of times for you kids to go to the dance though."

Kid was looking forward to the dance, not only for the chance to play with Ruth's mother but for the chance to observe most of the community under one roof. He had a feeling the culprit was right under their noses though as he observed Anna laying a cover over the unused wood.


	16. Chapter 16

The barn was finished by midafternoon. Douglas volunteered to keep an eye on the house and newly rebuilt barn, so the others could go to the dance. Clyde wanted to stay too but was forced into going by Mary, who insisted both he and Robert needed to get out and socialize with the young ladies. They gave Mark a ride in gratitude for his help with the barn.

The dance was being held in a large barn. It was not as well attended as it might have been in other places as a lot of people in the area didn't hold with dancing, thinking it a sin.

Joan Campbell was waiting outside by the entrance when they got there. She wasn't there to dance as she was in mourning. She was laying there in wait for Ruth, knowing her family would be playing there.

"I thought witches only dance in the woods on a full moon," Joan sneered when they got close enough to hear.

"Obviously not," Mark returned cheerfully, "since you're here."

Although Kid wasn't overly fond of Mark, he couldn't help being amused by his comeback and gave him a smile, which Mark returned. Was it possible they would end up as friends?

"My brother was murdered by this witch," she said with her finger stuck out accusingly at Ruth. Then she directed the next part to her, "And I'll see you in hell first before I let anyone else fall by your doing."

Mary put a hand over Danny's ear and pulled him against her side though it was a little too late to shelter him from the language. "Have some decency. My grandbabies are here."

"I suggest you be on your way, ma'am," Kid said simply but meaningfully.

Ruth, on the other hand, looked at her with compassion. "Joan, if there's anything I can do—"

Joan cut her off. "You always were a self-righteous, vulgar girl. Even if you aren't a witch, you could've used your healing powers and saved him. I'll leave for now, but you're going to pay for this one way or another."

"I could not've. I don't decide who lives or dies and if he thought the power came from me or the devil, which obviously he did as you do, his faith couldn't have healed him. All I could've done is pray for him and I would have if I'd've known."

Joan gave an unladylike snort of disgust and disbelief. Then she stormed away from the barn. There was a volatile woman, Kid thought. The whole Campbell family seemed to be hot-tempered, unstable people. Was she behind the acts? Still, how could she or Michael have kept from making tracks in the snow? They couldn't be the ones behind the chickens unless the barn and chickens were 2 separate happenings, which he doubted. They were just everyday rabble rousers, who weren't doing Ruth or the McKenzies any favors but not doing the deeds themselves. It was someone in Ruth's own family or it was Samuel, the only non-family who had made tracks in the snow before the chickens had been discovered.

Anna was mortified by the scene and looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here at the moment. "If Joan is any sign, people are going to be staring at us when we go in. I should've stayed home with Douglas."

"If they stare, it's only because the women in this family are so beautiful," Mark replied.

Kid bristled but realized he was talking mainly to Anna and it did manage to get a smile from her. She quickly separated from them inside though in favor of Samuel.

"Well, Danny, how about you and me kick up our heels?" Ruth suggested.

Danny looked up at Kid, who must have seemed like a giant to him, as if he needed his permission.

Ruth laughed. "I don't think your uncle cares. He's going to be playing the guitar not dancing."

"I trust you to take good care of her," he told the boy.

Danny's chest puffed up with being given such an important task and he took her hand, leading her out to the floor with a skip, eager to start dancing though there was no music yet, causing Kid to smile. He didn't know if the boy thought of him as an uncle yet, but he did have respect for him now.

Mary's brothers were already waiting as they made their way over to where the musicians would sit. The men had a banjo and a fiddle to add to the sound. He and Mary took their seats on the stools and got their guitars ready.

The little woman could play. Ruth hadn't been exaggerating. She had a style all of her own. She was coaxing out melodies from it he didn't know you could get from a guitar. He was amazed at the way her thumb hit the bass and middle strings while her pointer finger created a rhythm. He could've just sat there and watched her, but her look demanded that he join her and so he added his simpler style to her own.

He watched with a smile as Ruth and Danny hopped around the room more than danced, out of breath but with wide, beaming smiles on both their faces. She was so good with children. He couldn't wait until they had children of their own someday.

"You play fine," Mary complimented after they'd played their first set.

"Not as good as you."

"I'm older. Been around longer. Who taught you to play?"

"Nobody. I taught myself."

"That's quite an accomplishment. It ain't everybody that can do that and I can see that the tunes you don't know, you're quick to pick up on. You've got a musical gift, son, and a pleasing voice. Ruth don't think much about her musical ability either, but once she's learned a song, she's got it committed to memory. She can pick out a tune or remember the lyrics to a song quicker than you can blink and when she does perform, for the Lord mostly, she gives it her all. She puts her heart and soul into it."

"I've heard her sing and play and I do enjoy her, ma'am." He chuckled. "Her hand flies on the guitar at an unholy speed. I don't know how she does it, but it sounds good."

"Yeah, she's a bundle of energy alright, and please, call me Mary. Ma'am or Mrs. McKenzie is entirely too formal."

"Alright then, Mary." His position gave him the advantage of being able to see everybody and he had been keeping a close eye on the family. Clyde was sitting in the corner blushing bashfully every time a girl came near and not asking anyone to dance.

Mary noted where he was looking. "I reckon he'll get a girl when he's good and ready. He's young yet."

"Robert seems to be ready," Kid said with a wry grin.

"He's a flirt is what he is. I ain't seen him dance with a single girl twice tonight."

Mostly though Kid had been watching Anna. She danced almost exclusively with Samuel. They were as good as engaged from the look of things.

Mary stopped in the middle of the song once. All the dancers came to a standstill. When he looked at her quizzically, she explained. "It's out of tune. These folks didn't come here to listen to bad music."

She quickly got it back in tune. She was as fussy with her guitar as she was everything else, but he was quickly coming to enjoy that about her now that he wasn't one of those things she was fussy about.

During the next short break, he went for a drink. It was amazing that strumming a guitar could make a man as thirsty and parched as if he had been dancing. He was met at the punch bowl by Ruth's father.

"I've noticed you haven't been able to keep your eyes off my daughter," James said accusingly.

"Well, sir, I am married to her," he reminded him before taking a drink.

"Not Ruth, Anna," he clarified.

The punch suddenly became thicker and it was an effort to keep from choking. How was he going to explain that away? It was too soon to go spouting off accusations with no evidence to back it up.

"You've got a wandering eye," James continued, not waiting for him to come up with a suitable defense. "Just one more reason for me not to like you. You may have charmed my wife, but you ain't going to charm me."

"I ain't saying I don't admire a pretty lady. Lord knows, I've carried my admiration a little too far at times, but I've never loved or wanted to marry another woman beside your daughter, your middle daughter," he added, in case he was confused on the point. "If it helps, Ruth didn't marry me with any blinders on. She knows my past, my whole sordid past, and loves me for the man I am now by God's grace. I won't stray."

"Pretty words. You may not think you'll ever hurt her, but that's your youth talking. I'm sure she does know all about your past and forgive you, but I don't. No father wants their little girl to marry a man who has a long history with women; it means you have no respect for ladies or boundaries. The marriage won't end well even if you mean it to."

"If I ever hurt Ruth, I give you permission to shoot me like you've wanted to from the beginning," Kid promised.

"Deal," he said with no traces of humor.

As long as he was having this confrontation with his father-in-law, he thought he might as well have it out. "But I'm not the one hurting her, you are."

James' eyes narrowed. "How do you figure that?"

"Because Ruth wants us to get along. And you don't approve of her choice to go out west and be a healer and a revivalist. In a lot of ways, that's the same as rejecting her."

He looked thoughtful for a moment and then he humphed. "That's not what my disapproval means and I think I know my daughter better than you." Then he walked over to talk to Mary while she was on break.

It hadn't went well, Kid thought. Nothing had been solved, but at least they had finally cleared the air.

When the short break was over, he started to sit down on his stool again.

"Go dance with Ruth," Mary ordered. "You're too young to spend your whole night sitting and playing."

He grinned. He didn't need to be told twice.

As he approached Ruth, he hoped she hadn't notice his watching Anna. He didn't want to have to explain it to her. Although he would if he had to rather than letting her think he was being unfaithful. "May I have this dance?" he asked with a hand out.

"Well, you are the most handsome man here," she said as if she were debating it.

"Not the most light on my feet though," he said with a wry grin.

"It's worth a few bruised toes to spend some time with you," she teased as she scrunched her nose up in the way that he found adorable.

He relaxed when he was out on the floor with her. He would never be graceful, but he managed to keep from tripping over himself with her in his arms. Her cheeks were glowing prettily and her eyes bright from all the dancing she had done. Mostly with her relations as no one else had been giving her the time of day. "You been having a good time?"

She shrugged. "Dancing wise, yes, and I got some folks to talk to me in between times. I don't know that I was ever popular, you know what they say about never being appreciated in your hometown and all that, but people at least tolerated me. Now they're afraid of me… but I'm going to church tomorrow. I'm going to ask the pastor to let me speak. Maybe I can correct some misconceptions and make some of this die down. Although good news and truth never seem to travel as fast as bad news and lies."

"Ain't that the truth." He hesitated a moment before asking, "You think that Ronald may have been murdered?"

Ruth shook her head, "Not according to my granny. She attended his body. It was just an unlucky coincidence, I think."

"I'll be glad when we have some miles between us and this place."

"We can't leave until we find out who is doing this."

He rested his chin on the top of her head. "I know." His eyes flitted to Anna and Samuel who were also holding a private chat. Was it possible they were in league together? It didn't look like they were whispering sweet nothings to each other. "I got some ideas on who it might be."

"Oh?"

"I just hope I'm wrong."


	17. Chapter 17

Ruth braided her hair beside him in bed. He playfully flipped her braid when she finished.

"You ever going to tell me who you think's behind this? Were they at the dance?" she asked as she settled down next to him.

He didn't want to cause her pain by telling her he thought it was her family but neither did he want to lie to her. Maybe he could give her the plain facts and let her draw her own conclusions from there. "When we found the chickens Christmas morning, I looked for tracks down around the hill where it wasn't as muddled. I didn't see any tracks but your relatives', the sleigh tracks, and the footprints we made going sleighing."

Her eyes widened with surprise and she turned her body toward him so that she could see him more fully. "Why didn't you say anything before?"

"I still don't know who did it for sure. I want to be sure."

Her forehead was wrinkled and her lips pursed as she tried to make sense of it. "It must be Samuel. It has to be but why? I don't even know him."

"Are you sure about that? You sure that it's Samuel?"

"You're not thinking it's someone from my own family?" If she was surprised by the tracks, she was shocked by his query.

"Why couldn't it be?" he challenged.

"Because they're my family." Kid envied Ruth in that moment because she was so sure of their love for her. He wished he could say the same about his family's love for him. She continued, "They wouldn't do something like this. I know them."

"Do you? You'd be surprised what can be simmering below the surface or how things can change in an instant. People you think you've known your whole life…" A lump formed in his throat as he thought again about his family. He swallowed and reached out to touch her hesitantly, unsure if she would recoil with anger. He said softly. "I'm just worried about that conversation you had with your sister."

"It wasn't so bad. I really don't think she meant to hurt my feelings. I may not be her favorite person, but she wouldn't stoop to this. She wouldn't, especially since it's hurting Momma and Daddy too."

He kissed the tip of her nose. "No one could ever doubt your loyalty. I know that much. I guess the thing to do is watch Samuel like a hawk tomorrow at church and see if we can't get a conversation going with him."

"Little chance of that. Anna won't let us in 10 feet of him, but I ain't going to let her go nowhere with him by herself. We'll invite ourselves along if need be."

sss

The pews were half empty Sunday morning just as it had been at the Christmas Eve service. Samuel was one of those absent people, but his brother told Anna it was because of a cold and not because of Ruth.

"Ruth has asked to speak to the congregation," the pastor informed them at the end of his sermon.

"Might I say something first?" Fiona McKenzie said, standing up.

"Of course, Mrs. McKenzie," he agreed.

She didn't move from her spot but raised her voice so they could all hear her plainly. "My granddaughter has been interested in healing since she was a wee girl and went with me on visits often as most of you know. I've always prayed for healing, but I used to have more faith in my herbs and other methods than God. Ruth believes strongly in His promise to heal through prayer and faith and she helps others to believe it too; she has a rare gift that way. I've learned to seek the will and power of our God first then use the plants and knowledge he gave us second. There are more than Mrs. Norris who have received miraculous healing in these mountains by Ruth's assistance. I didn't want it widely known because I and her parents were afraid of exactly this that people wouldn't see the true source behind the healing. Listen to her. Let her help you understand." She sat back down.

Ruth shot her grandmother a grateful look and went up to the front. "The Bible clearly says that the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick. That the Lord will raise the person up. What I do ain't nothing new. It's believing what the Bible says is true. But maybe seeing is believing. You can judge for yourselves where the power comes from. Is there anybody who will come and be healed today?"

You could have heard a pin drop as people studied their neighbors in astonishment, wondering if anyone would dare go up.

An 11 year old girl stood up. She was gaunt with yellowish skin and looked as if a feather could have knocked her over. Her hair was also thin and limp, hinting she had been sick for awhile.

Her mother looked fretful and started to reach up to stop her daughter, but the girl's father took the woman by the elbow, signaling for her to wait and see what happened.

Ruth smiled warmly at the girl as she stopped in front of her. "'Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.'" She asked the girl, "Do you believe that God can heal you through our Lord Jesus Christ?"

She nodded and said in a soft voice, "Yes, ma'am."

She placed her hands gently on the girl. "Then feel His power in you and be healed."

There were gasps as the girl's skin began to visibly lose its yellow tint and take on a healthy, pink tint.

"Blessed be the name of the Lord," Ruth said enthusiastically.

The girl's smile was joyous as she returned to her parents.

Ruth said, "It ain't witchcraft. It ain't even any unique spiritual power and I'm certainly no great spiritual leader. I'm just an ordinary person with an extraordinary God who because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever can and does perform miracles even now. He's the one who healed Mrs. Norris. He's the one who healed Beth just now."

Others came to be healed and many offered apologies for their disbelief or lack of vocal support after the service.

"Maybe this'll be an end of it," Ruth told Kid on the way home.

"Maybe, but did you reach and convince the man or woman behind it? That's the real test."

"We'll see, I reckon."

sss

Kid woke up during the night, needing to visit the outhouse, and found Anna out by the ash tree, the half moon casting enough light on her long brunette hair and linen nightgown to see her plainly. She held a rope in her hands that was connected to the neck of a scarecrow, which was thrown over the lowest bough. The straw figure was a crude effigy of Ruth as it was wearing one of her dresses, the blue calico, and the features painted on resembled Ruth though it was plain to see it hadn't been done by an artist's hand.

Her eyes widened as she caught sight of Kid and she let the rope slip from her hands, the scarecrow falling to the ground with a soft thud.


	18. Chapter 18

Blood drained from her face. "I didn't do this," Anna said before he'd uttered a word.

"It sure looks like you did," he said none too kindly, "but save your explanations for your family. They're the ones who need to hear it."

She closed her mouth but glared daggers as she followed him back into the house.

Anna sat down while Kid gathered them. He knocked on Clyde's door and her parents' door. "There's an important matter to discuss."

There were murmurs of complaint and mumbled questions of 'it can't wait?', but they promised to come.

He woke Ruth up last, not eager to tell her the news. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Ruth? Ruth?"

She looked up at him bleary-eyed. She caught his troubled expression right off the bat. "You found out who's behind it."

"I'm afraid so and this time I caught her red-handed."

"Anna?" she asked as she visibly winced, the thought paining her.

"She's waiting to tell us her side of things."

Ruth quickly threw her dress on, not bothering with her corset and leaving her hair in a braid.

Clyde had went and got Robert, who had been patrolling out around the barn. Mary had gotten Anna a blanket for modesty's sake and because she had been shivering.

"Do you want to tell them or should I?" Kid asked.

Anna gave an irritated sigh. "I will." She purposely looked away from him and at her family instead, who were standing, afraid to sit down. "I heard something outside, so I went to the window to see what it was. I didn't see anybody, but I did see a scarecrow made to look like Ruth. I didn't want her to see it, so I thought I'd get it down myself and then the avenging angel here spotted me and assumed I was putting it up."

They all looked confused and unsure of how to respond, all but Kid who immediately returned, "Are you trying to say that someone not from this house was able to get hold of Ruth's dress to put on the scarecrow? Who else would have been able to get into her room and get it unnoticed? And why were you so scared when I caught you?"

"I don't know who did it or how they got it, but I was getting it down. I wasn't putting it up," she insisted. Her arms were folded in front of her defensively. "And why wouldn't I be scared with somebody sneaking up on me when the person who hung it is plainly threatening to do violence to my sister."

"Are you denying that you're not eager to see her gone?" he asked.

"No, I mean yes. You can't think I would do those awful things." Guilt crossed her features. "I'm not saying I didn't want this witch stuff behind us and if that meant you two leaving a little early, I wouldn't have minded, but I wouldn't go this far."

"It's true that Kid saw you messing with the scarecrow?" James asked quietly.

"Yes, but—"

"Why didn't you come tell your mother or me and let us handle it?" he asked, interrupting her.

"I don't know. I just reacted."

"How did he or she get past Robert when they were toting a scarecrow?" James continued.

Anna was getting more distressed. "I don't know. Maybe they came from the woods. Robert can't be everywhere."

"It's a possibility," Robert agreed.

"Anna, it's the dress that concerns me," James said. "I know Mary or myself didn't get her dress. I have a hard time picturing Robert or Clyde chancing seeing Ruth's unmentionables while they dug through her clothes." The thought garnering looks of revulsion from her brothers that confirmed that theory. "That leaves you."

Tears gathered in the corners of Anna's eyes.

"You are 17 years old. Almost 18. What I ought to do is turn you out of this house," James said. "Instead, I want you confined to your room. There won't be any of this courting Samuel stuff since you obviously can't be trusted away from our sight yet."

Kid looked around, and judging from the expressions he saw, no one was in doubt of her guilt now though they were all obviously pained by it. Ruth was the exception. She still looked reluctant to believe it, wanting to believe Anna, but neither did she have the same confidence that it couldn't be her sister as she'd had before.

"Anna—" Ruth began.

Anna cut her off sharply. "Don't go playing the compassionate martyr. It's clear I've already been declared guilty. If that's what ya'll want, fine, but don't be surprised when something else dreadful happens."

sss

Mary was nervous if the burned biscuits and unnecessary rattling around the kitchen was any kind of sign. Although he imagined none of them had slept well after the night they'd had. He was the first one at the table.

"Ruth'll be along in a few minutes. Where's Mr. McKenzie?" he asked.

"He said he had to go out and think, but I know where he's really gone. Out to drink and that worries me more than usual, circumstances being what they are," she said, handing him one of the biscuits with an apologetic look.

"I like a bit of a burnt taste," he said generously, using lots of butter and jam to hide the flavor. He gave a short, silent blessing since he was the only one eating at the moment. "There's a saloon around here?" Kid asked.

"No, he set up a still somewhere or one of his buddies did. He's an old hand at it, but I still worry he's going to make some bad liquor one of these days and Lord only knows what'll happen to him then."

"I'll find him for you," he offered after he finished the biscuit with a couple of quick bites and washed it down with coffee, which thankfully had survived her distracted cooking.

"Would you?" she said with a sigh of relief. She switched to concern, "You didn't get enough to eat, did you?"

"I'm not all that hungry right now. I'll get me something else when I get back."

"I know that feeling," she said more to herself than Kid.

Ruth was still doing her morning Bible study in her room. She saw him bundling up out of the corner of her eye. "Where you going?"

"Your momma's worried about your daddy, so I volunteered to go find him. You never told me your father drinks."

"It was never a huge problem growing up. He was very good at hiding it. Still is, I reckon. I never saw him drunk. He would just disappear for a day or two. I stumbled across a jug of his once when I was about 10 and I raised such Cain about it, thinking it was some strange, lowdown drunk that had left it in the barn, that he was a lot more careful about it after that. None of us youngens ever ran across one again." She closed her Bible and stood up. "Maybe I should go with you."

"I think it'd be better if I went and talked to him. I know I ain't his favorite person, but this is something I can relate to."

She didn't disagree, but she told him, "You're libel to get turned around out in the woods. The trees can get pretty dense once you get up on the mountain and if you ain't familiar with the area."

"I got a pretty good internal compass, but you can send out a search party if I ain't back in a few hours," he said, kissing her goodbye.

The foliage was as thick as Ruth had claimed, but he could smell the yeasty, unpleasant smell of fermenting alcohol long before he saw or even heard them. When he came upon them James and 2 other men were sprawled out under the trees. The friends were all but passed out, but James still looked lucid.

"Look, fellows, it's my son-in-law come to fetch me home probably," James said.

"Mary's worried about you. You should be with your family right now." He felt like a hypocrite as he certainly hadn't stuck around during the tragedy in his own family, not that he thought it would've made a bit of difference if he had.

James barely acknowledged his words. "It ain't safe to drink anywhere. I can't do it at home because the women of my family don't approve of it and ain't shy about letting me know. If you want any, you better get some while you can. My momma seems to know when a new still is in the woods and where it is before the birds do. We've lost more copper pots that way. If ever there was a job that required locating and destroying stills, Momma'd be your man or woman in this case."

He'd certainly drunk enough to free his tongue. Kid had never heard him string so many words together. He tried again. "Why don't you come back with me? This ain't the way to handle things."

"My youngest daughter burned down my barn, killed my chickens, and hung up a scarecrow made to look like Ruth. Should I be dancing a jig instead?"

"No, sir, but when the hangover's gone, the problem's still there, ain't it?"

He grunted and then his mood changed to a more somber one. "I tried to raise my girls right."

"I'm sure you did, but people have to make their own choices in the end."

He continued as if he hadn't even heard him. "I was a little too free with Ruth, I think. I should've insisted she not spend so much time with me. Made her into an independent and headstrong eccentric like me instead of a genteel lady like her mother and sisters. Now she's roaming all over dangerous territories telling people things they don't want to hear. Married a man with more vices than me. And Anna must be jealous of all that. My sweet, little Anna, who I thought wouldn't hurt a fly, who's practically afraid of her own shadow." His eyes looked a little wet.

"Say what you like about me, but you watch what you say about Ruth. You may be her father, but I'm her husband. That lady may be more independent and outgoing than the average female, but believe you me, she's just as genteel if not more so than any lady I've ever known and she's certainly got the biggest heart. And if you could see her out in her element, you would know you'd raised her to be the woman God intended her to be."

A begrudging respect shone in his eyes. He liked that Kid had stood up to him to defend Ruth. Then he actually smiled. "Maybe Ruth could've done worse. Don't worry about it. I don't like most of her life choices, but I love the girl exactly like she is. I love all my girls exactly like they are."

Kid held a hand out to him to help him up off the ground. "Maybe we'll surprise Ruth yet by becoming friends."

He accepted it and got to his feet. "Lord knows it'd be a surprise alright." His hand bent downward for a moment as he scratched his eyebrow, a gesture used to give him some time to collect his words. "I want to thank you for seeing that Ruth was kept safe during all this. I know it couldn't have been easy finding out it was her sister and then worrying about how everyone was going to take it. I know we must all seem like pretty unreasonable people to you and what with you just befriending Mary."

"I had my suspicions for awhile, but I hoped it wasn't," Kid told him.

"I appreciate that and I appreciate that you kept it to yourself until you was sure. I just pray it's not too late to get Anna straightened out."

"I hope you're, uh, clear minded enough to know where you're going. I think I got turned around and Ruth would never let me hear the end of it if I got lost out here."

He chuckled. "You're right about that. Lucky for you I am."


	19. Chapter 19

Anna sat dejectedly in her room. She was surprised a guard hadn't been posted outside her door. A peck on the glass interrupted her isolation and she saw that it was Samuel. She pushed the window outward and latched it with the hook, so she could hear him better.

"Your daddy just told me I'm not allowed to see you. What's going on?"

"They just think I'm a criminal. That's all," she said bitterly. "I got caught taking down a scarecrow that looks like Ruth. Some sick person hung it from a tree. They even got a hold of one of her dresses and they all assumed it was me." Concern suddenly replaced the bitterness. "You don't think it was me, do you?"

His gray eyes studied her sharply for a moment and then he ran a hand through his thick brown hair that always seemed unruly and always made Anna want to run her hands through it too. "I believe you. It's that sister of yours' fault. She's been nothing but trouble since she got here."

"Well, I wouldn't say that. Say what you like about her, she does help heal people."

He looked at her tenderly. "She's no you. You help people too but in a much more ladylike way without calling attention to yourself."

Anna colored but she smiled at the compliment.

"And because she is calling attention to herself, your family is suffering because of it. Dillon told me she stood right up in front of the church with a fancy speech and healed somebody for everybody to see."

"She did it for us not herself. She's simply trying to calm people's fears." Anna surprised herself that she was taking up for Ruth as she certainly hadn't been before but Samuel had never spoken so openly against her.

"Let's stop talking about her and talk about us. Have you even told your family we're engaged yet?"

"No, I haven't had a chance to what with everything that's been going on, but I will."

"You should elope with me now and to heck with them. You don't have to stay under this roof and suffer this indignity. It's disgraceful that they're treating you like a wayward child and believing that rebellious sister over you."

She shook her head. "That's not how it is and I wouldn't feel right running off. I want this mess straightened out first and eloping would make it look like we had something to hide. That's not how I want to start out married life."

He looked angry for a second and then he seemed to will himself to calm down. "If that's how you want it." He reached through the window to take her hand, which she gave to him. "It will be straightened out soon and you will be my wife."

"Of course it will and I will, but you better go. You won't be doing me any favors if you're caught at my window."

"I'll see you later," he promised.

Anna was just drawing the window closed when there was a knock at her door. "Yeah?"

"I have your dinner. Can I come in?" Ruth called.

Anna hesitated for a moment and then said, "I guess you better if I want to eat."

Ruth opened the door with her free hand and shut it behind her. "I'm not here to play martyr or whatever it is you think I do. I just want to talk." She set the lunch of fried fish and potatoes down on Anna's hope chest along with a cup of goat's milk.

"The bright spot in a prisoner's day, a meal to break up the monotony," Anna said sarcastically.

"Prisoners don't get to eat Momma's cooking," Ruth said with a smile, trying to soften the situation.

"I guess that's so. I reckon I should be grateful that bread and water's not part of my punishment."

"It may seem like a punishment and I guess it is, but it'll also prove your innocence too." Ruth shivered. "There's a draft in here." She went over to build the fire higher.

"You just can't help yourself, can you? You always have to be taking care of people," she said with a shake of her head. "Do you really believe in my innocence or are you just saying that?"

"I don't know what to believe, but I want to believe you."

"That's something, I guess," she said as she shifted around her sliced potatoes, trying to work up an appetite. "I'm sorry I snapped at you last night. I know you were just trying to help, but it was infuriating that everyone was accusing me either silently or otherwise. I was afraid it'd be more of the same from you or pity which would be worse, I think."

Ruth finished with the fire came and sat down on the edge of the bed with her. "I would be surer of your innocence if we hadn't had that talk about how embarrassing I am to you."

Anna cringed. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I guess…it's just that haven't felt in your shadow since you left. Did you know I've started singing in church?"

"That's wonderful. I've always thought you have a voice like an angel. To tell you the truth, I envied it. I had to pray about that sin quite a few times, but I'm so happy you're sharing it and using it for God."

"It's funny you envying me. I envied you. You were practically perfect."

"Me? Perfect? I'm quite sure that it was me that got my hind end switched a good deal more than yours."

That brought a smile to her face. "Maybe, but I didn't grow up to be a minister, dedicating my life to the Lord, did I? Momma and Daddy are proud of you despite their protests. Besides, I might not have been the prankster you were, but I was the brat who always wanted my own way."

"And got it often as not with your sweet curls and dimples and your big green eyes. It's a wonder you've turned out as good as you have," she said with a chuckle. "Remember when you used to follow me and Laura around like a shadow. It used to drive us crazy most times because we'd have to watch out after you and you could get into some scrapes."

"Well, I adored you both. You were always so comfortable around people, strangers even, and you could make them laugh without even trying and pray their illnesses away. I wanted to be just like you."

"The past tense being the key. I still adore you though and I wish I had the grace you do. I've had so many embarrassing foot-in-the-mouth moments, I can't count them."

"I've had those lately myself, and I don't hate you. I love you, in fact. It's just that you came home married right as I was going to announce my engagement. It felt like I was living in your shadow again, but I realize that was my fault not yours. Then with this witch business, I selfishly believed Samuel would rethink about getting married into this family. It doesn't justify my behavior, but I want you to understand."

Ruth drew her into a hug. "I do and I had no idea you felt that way, but I'm glad you told me. Just remember that God always sees us. There is nobody you have to live up to; He's the source of our self-worth."

"It wasn't me and I'm frightened for you, Ruth," Anna whispered still wrapped in her embrace and sounding very much like the scared girl who had crawled into bed with Ruth during thunder storms.

Released from the hug, Anna wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve. "Maybe you should leave now. You've only got about a week left to go. Why risk it being you they hang up from the tree?"

"Because they may take out that anger on one of you when we're gone. I'm not going off and leaving any of you like this."

"You are stubborn," Anna said with a sigh of frustration.

"It's the McKenzie way," Ruth teased. "Congratulations on the engagement by the way. I've got to go eat my dinner, but I'll be back to get your dishes and keep you company."

Alone again, Anna looked out the window. The tree branches scraped against each other ominously and she couldn't shake the feeling of dread that the worst was yet to come.


	20. Chapter 20

"You spent a lot of time with your sister," Kid observed when she finally came out with the dirty dishes.

"We had a lot to talk about."

"Trying to convince you she's innocent with some sob story?" he asked, taking the dishes for her as they made their way to the kitchen.

"She didn't have to convince me. I believe her." The rest of the dishes had been washed up. Ruth rolled up her sleeves and added more hot water from the kettle to the lukewarm dishwater.

"Why?" he asked, picking up the towel to dry.

"Call it sisterly intuition. You never know until you know, I guess, but I really don't think it's anyone in my family. I think it's—"

"Samuel," he finished for her.

"He was the only nonfamily member who made tracks in the snow, although he's looking to change that. He wants to marry Anna, but don't say anything about that to anyone. She's not ready to announce it." She handed him the last wet dish.

"And hopefully won't ever be if it was Samuel. Did you tell her of your suspicions?"

"I just got her on friendly terms with me again. She'll close up if I accuse her fiancé. She loves him." She picked up one end of the wooden tub and Kid got the other. They carried it outside and dumped it in the brittle winter grass.

"Well, I wouldn't be quick to prove her innocent then before I catch Samuel. Her punishment is keeping her away from him for the time being."

"Amen to that, but how are we going to catch him?"

"You mean how am I going to catch him. I'm working on a plan."

"And you ain't going to tell me what it is, are you?"

"You told me to trust you that it's not one of your family. Trust me to take care of this."

"I already do," she said, slipping her still wet hand into his.

sss

The following day was nippy, not really the kind of day for walking, but when you had spent as much time outdoors as Kid and Ruth, a house had a way of closing in on you after awhile, making you feel claustrophobic.

They walked past Robert's cabin.

"You seen inside?" Ruth asked.

She knocked on the door when he confirmed that he hadn't, but her brother wasn't there. "Robert won't care if we poke around inside."

She swung the door open, revealing a small but efficient space. Just enough room for a bed, stove, a table to eat at and a chair or two besides with a little floor space left in the middle. Not much light though. Just two small windows.

"So this is where you were born?"

"Yeah, Granny delivered me, Robert, and Laura right over there in that corner. I don't remember living here, but it made a great playhouse."

He smiled. "I'm sure it did. There's plenty of yard space. Why didn't he just expand the cabin when ya'll outgrew it?"

It flooded one year being so close to the river, so he decided to build on top of the hill instead. Don't think it's ever flooded so bad since, but you can't be too sure and you can't beat the view up there either."

"That's true."

"It suits Robert good though. He'll inherit the farm one day, and this way he gets to get some solitude, and if he ever marries, they'll have a nice little bungalow to themselves."

There was no fire going in the cabin, so they quickly left it and went on their way.

The barn wasn't far from the cabin. Robert and Clyde were inside feeding the animals.

They said hi to Ruth and then proceeded to kid her about her rundown horse.

"Carmel and I don't have to stand around and listen to your jabs," Ruth said teasingly indignant. "I believe I'm going to take her on a short walk. She's libel to get too used to a warm stable and refuse to pull the wagon."

Kid realized she was trying to give him the opportunity to get to know her brothers. He hadn't talked to them much and he wanted to learn everything he could about Samuel.

The barn became silent again except for the sound of hay being pitched. Kid grabbed a shovel and added to the pile that was being saved for the fields in spring.

"You two know Samuel very well?" he queried after a couple minutes. It wasn't a subtle question, but he was used to being direct.

"Why?" Robert asked guardedly.

"Just wondering is all. Wondering if your father banned him because he thinks he's a bad influence on your sister."

"Samuel's alright and Anna's alright too. Muddled about some things maybe, but I don't appreciate your gloating over it. You've done enough. This is a family matter."

"He's just trying to help, Robert," Clyde said. He didn't speak up often but when he did he had something to say. "It's not like he wanted Anna to be caught."

"Maybe not, but Ruth's having trouble believing it, ain't she, and you're trying to find another answer for her. Is that it?"

"More or less."

"See? He doesn't care a thing about Anna," Robert said to Clyde.

Kid returned the shovel to its spot. "You're wrong. I care a lot about this family because I care about Ruth."

Ruth returned with her horse and they were both ready to go warm up. Back inside, she led him to the bedroom. It was still daylight outside, but he had no complaints. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat as she slipped out of her dress until he saw she was simply putting on her good dress.

She caught his puzzled look. "Don't you know it's New Year's Eve? We go to church on New Year's Eve."

"Your family goes to church on New Year's Eve?" Kid echoed.

"Of course, it keeps people from being out drinking; it's the Methodist way. You can't get into trouble if you're in church, at least not much anyway," she replied, eyes sparkling with humor.

"Well, it sure ain't the Baptist way. Reckon I can stand it though," he said, moving to change out of his barn-smelling clothes.

"Course you can. It's good for the soul."

sss

They milled around the outside of the church, waiting for Laura and her family and the older Mrs. McKenzie, whom they hadn't yet informed of the latest events involving Anna. Anna had been released from her prison to attend church. She looked hopefully around for Samuel but didn't see him there. Though she reluctantly believed her daughter's guilt, Mary mothered Anna as much as Anna would allow.

The church service was about to start just as Mrs. McKenzie made it. They started filing their way in with Ruth and her grandmother last in the group.

"Where's Laura?" Ruth asked.

"Resting. Her feet and legs are swollen. Her time's getting near. And what about you? You going to be giving me some great grandbabies soon?"

"Granny," Ruth said, her cheeks warm.

"You're a married woman and you've helped deliver more than one baby into the world. No reason to be so prim," she said with a grin. More seriously she asked, "You two thought about what you going to do if you are blessed with a baby? I know you both got itchy feet, but you planning on settling down somewhere with your child?"

"Don't know. Never really talked about it, but we haven't been blessed yet. Plenty of time to talk about it."

"Ain't from lack of trying though, is it?" she continued with a sly grin.

"Granny, you're terrible," Ruth chastised, embarrassed and amused, hoping Kid, who was no more than a foot in front of them, wasn't hearing the conversation.

"What? I was young once. I know what it's like to be newlyweds in love."

Ruth just shook her head, smiling to herself.

"People say you're more like me or your daddy, but you got plenty of your mother in you with that staunch puritan streak of yours. Don't worry about me though. I'll spend the whole service repenting."

Ruth laughed as they took a seat on the pew.

The pastor sermonized on making the new year, a year for the Lord and encouraging them to add more prayer time, Bible reading, and good deeds to their new year's resolutions.

It was dark when they returned. Farm chores came whatever day it was and there was no use wasting candlelight or oil to see the new year come in, so everyone went to bed at a decent hour as per normal.

Kid had trouble sleeping. He watched the hours melt away as he periodically checked his pocket watch, which finally showed midnight.

"Happy New Year, baby," he said, waking Ruth with a kiss.

"It's 1829 already?" she mumbled sleepily, eyes still shut.

"Yeah," he said with a tender smile.

"Happy New Year, honey," she said with a yawn.

He kissed her forehead and then she turned back onto her side, facing the window. He nestled in behind her, a definite perk to the small bed. He knew one thing. Thanks to her, it was the first New Year's in a long time that filled him with hope and anticipation of what lay in store. There was only one dark mar to it, but he didn't intend to let her be alone until they left this place.


	21. Chapter 21

The next morning, James sat at the head of the table with all of the family but Anna seated for breakfast.

"We need to get the new year as a family started off on the right foot and I believe He's led me to a passage that fits our situation." He picked up his large, brown leather Bible that was beautifully ragged, beautiful because it showed signs of being well-used.

"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him. For the Lord will not cast off for ever: But though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. To crush under His feet all the prisoners of the earth, To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the most High, To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not. Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good? Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens."

"Amen," Ruth said when he closed the Bible.

Just as they were bowing their heads to pray, there was a knock at the door. It was Douglas. He came into the kitchen with Jacob in one arm and Danny clutching tightly to his father's other hand but no Laura.

"The baby's coming," he announced.

"You didn't leave my daughter alone?" James demanded.

"No, sir," Douglas answered. "Your mother's with her. I just needed to get the kids out of the house and I thought Mary and the girls might want to be with her."

"Of course, we want to," Ruth said, already wrapping her mother and hers breakfast to take on the way.

Mary had gone to get their cloaks and was back. She wrapped the cloak around Ruth since her hands weren't free.

"Momma looked sick," Danny said in a small voice.

"She's not sick, sweetheart," Mary assured her grandson. "She's just getting ready to get you a new brother or sister."

Kid got up to follow the women.

"We don't need men underfoot," Mary said before he'd even stood up straight.

Kid pulled Ruth to the side and said in a quiet tone, "You know as well as I do that it's not safe for you to be running off by yourself."

"I'll be fine. Laura doesn't live that far away and he's not going to openly attack in front of my mother and ruin his chances of marrying Anna. Anything he tries is going to be concealed and cowardly."

He looked torn. He didn't really like the idea of being around for a birth, but he didn't like the idea of having Ruth out of his sight either. "Just be on the lookout for trouble," he finally said.

"You know I will," she said, throwing him a kiss in the air because of her full hands.

Ruth noticed that Danny still looked fretted. She carefully bent down and said, "Kiss my cheek and I'll be sure to pass it along to your momma."

He did and she stood back up. "Consider it signed, sealed, and delivered."

Danny suddenly remembered something after they were gone and ran after them and called out from the doorway, "Make sure she gets a boy!"

Ruth laughed and called back, "I'll do my best."

Robert and Clyde had readied the wagon for them. Mary and Ruth took turns driving and eating their breakfasts. They left the dirty dishes in the wagon and hurried inside Laura and Douglas's cabin.

"Where's Anna?" Laura asked when she saw them. Mrs. McKenzie's gnarled hand pushed back her oldest granddaughter's damp blonde hair and then used a cool cloth on her sweaty skin to try and make her as comfortable as possible.

Mary and Ruth looked at each other, wondering if they should save the news for later.

Mary decided by vaguely answering, "She's got some things to take care of, but she can't wait to see the baby."

Laura looked as if she wanted to ask more but a half scream and half moan came from her lips instead as a particularly painful contraction hit.

Ruth flinched. She'd been present for Laura's other births and a handful of other women's births, but labor took on a whole new meaning when it might be your turn next.

Her mother seemed to read her thoughts. "It's not so bad and once your child's in your arms, the memory of the pain fades."

"Don't lie to the child. You remember it too well. God wasn't exaggerating when He told Eve that she would bear children in pain. The twinges are knifelike and sharp; you feel like you're being stretched beyond your ability to be stretched and like your lower half is going to be rent in two, but it is worth it all."

"Thank you, Granny," Ruth said dryly. "I'm really looking forward to it now."

"Excuse me, but I'm trying not to focus on the pain here," Laura said, looking miserable. "Could we save this conversation for later?"

"Sorry, honey," Mary said as she sat down on a stool by her bedside and offered her hand to Laura, which she gratefully took.

The labor went much quicker than her previous two. Ruth stayed out of the way, praying to God to ease her sister's pain. Laura arched as she gave everything she had into one final push.

The healthy cries of an infant filled the room. It never failed to awe Ruth how precious new life was. There was a new soul on the earth, one whose cries had never been heard before this moment and one who was deeply loved by His Maker. And this particular baby shared her blood.

"Another boy," their grandmother reported. She expertly cut the cord, having been midwife over more babies' births than she could recall. She had the water ready to clean the newborn off and she left behind only his pink, wrinkled skin. Then she wrapped him in a waiting blanket and handed the baby to Laura.

"He's perfect," Mary said. "Have you all picked a name out?"

"We're naming him Evan James after Papaw and Daddy."

Fiona smiled, pleased he was being named after her departed husband. "He looks like an Evan."

Mary held him for a little bit and then gave him to Ruth to hold. "You're going to have your hands full surrounded by 3 ornery little boys, not to mention the big one," Ruth said to her sister.

Laura grinned. "I'm certainly outnumbered. That's for sure."

"You can handle them though. You had no trouble bossing us all around as I recall," Ruth added.

Laura snorted. "Like you listened half the time."

"You must have me confused for somebody else," she teased. Then she studied the baby more closely. He had wispy fawn-colored hair and eyes that were dark blue with a rim of moss-colored green. In a few months his eyes would probably change completely to that mossy green and she wouldn't be around to see, which saddened her a little as she was already completely smitten with him. "God picked you a wonderful family to be born into, my sweet little Evan, one that will make sure you grow up knowing Him."

As she passed the warm, tiny bundle back to his mother, her arms ached to have a baby of her own to hold.


	22. Chapter 22

Kid and Ruth were huddled under the covers not eager to get up and start the day because of the bone-freezing cold.

"Do you want children?" Ruth asked seemingly out of the blue as far as Kid was concerned. She reached up and stroked his rough, stubbly cheek with the back of her hand. It was a subject they'd never discussed between themselves.

He took her hand and kissed the back of it. "I didn't think I did. Didn't think I wanted to get married either, but with you—" his sentence hung unfinished as his eyes suddenly became as big as saucers and he sat up. "Are—are you with child?"

"No, no," she said with a firm shake of her head. "Laura's new baby got me thinking about the future is all."

"He is a cute little fellow." He relaxed and laid back down. "The answer's yes. I want to have a baby with you."

She smiled with relief and then asked, "If I did become pregnant, what would we do?"

"Hunker down at the first town we come to with a doctor. We ain't going to be out in the middle of nowhere when you have it. Too many women die from it." He pulled her closer as if he was trying to keep her with him always.

"What about after the baby's here? Would you get restless if we got a house somewhere? Would you rather keep traveling like we been doing?"

"I want to do what you want to do," he said right away.

"That's no kind of answer," she said with a laugh. "You need to be happy too."

"I ain't saying I don't like being on the move cause I do and that's what is safest for me to do out west where they know me too well, but I could settle down if that's what you wanted to do. You make me happy. You're my home."

"And I want to do whatever God would have us do. I reckon we'll pray about it when the time comes." She noticed the sudden, big smile he was giving her. "What are you smiling at?"

His smile got even wider. "Just thinking about how much I'd love a baby that looks like you."

"Well, I hope he looks like you. I can just see him now running around on two chubby legs with a shock of black hair and big brown eyes."

"You know this imaginary son of ours isn't going to get here unless we work on the situation, don't you?"

"The sun's already up," she said, glancing out what window wasn't being blocked by the dresser.

He looked at his watch. "It's still early yet. Is there some kind of unwritten rule I don't know about that says the sun can't be up? Because if there is, I won't tell if you don't," he said with a mischievous grin.

She laughed and encircled her arms around him, pulling him on top of her. "It is for as good a reason as any."

"And the best reason of all is I love you." His expression was intense and his mouth covered hers in an even more intense kiss.

"And I love you," she returned in loving tones between kisses.

sss

They were the last ones getting to the table. Everyone looked sober and anxious. Ruth flushed, hoping none of them guessed the reason for their lateness.

"Your horse is gone," James informed her without ceremony.

"What do you mean she's gone?" Ruth asked.

"Kid's horse is there," Robert explained, "But when I went out to feed them yours wasn't."

"I would say it was a thief passing through after horseflesh," James said, "but no offense Ruthie, a horse thief wouldn't pass up Kid's horse and take yours."

"No, he wouldn't," Ruth agreed. "At least Anna's in the clear. Even if she somehow escaped the room, how and where would she hide a horse?"

Clyde went to tell Anna she was free to join them.

"I'm sorry I thought it was you," Kid apologized to her when they got back.

"It's okay. It did look bad. If I didn't know any better, I'd've thought it was me too," Anna said.

Kid was surprised as she'd obviously done some maturing and thinking while she was confined to her room.

Her family offered her a round of apologies as well.

"Maybe we can spot some tracks after breakfast," Robert said. "Find the horse and who's got it."

"I hope so. Sure you ain't got her stuffed in your wardrobe," Ruth kidded Anna though she was plainly heavyhearted over the missing horse.

"I wish I did. I'll help you look for it," Anna promised.

Ruth pushed her bowl of cornmeal mush and tomato slices back, having no appetite. "Thanks. I think I'm going to look for her now."

"Honey, can't you eat first?" Mary asked.

"I'll eat after I find her, Momma," Ruth promised. "Ya'll eat though."

Kid, knowing how she felt about Carmel, brought her into a comforting hug as soon as they were in the living room together.

"You think he's going to kill her?" she whispered against his chest.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. He was thankful that all he had was the horse and not his wife, assuming it was Samuel. "But I do know this has gone too far," he said as he rubbed her back in soothing circles. "I was going to try and smoke our suspect out, but I'm going down there and try some intimidation instead. I've found that works best."

She pulled away and her eyes pleaded with his. "It's not worth shooting him over."

"I never shoot a man that doesn't draw on me first. You go finish breakfast with your family while I get your horse, and whatever you do, don't leave this house alone."

"Why don't you take your own advice?"

"Too much to explain to them and they're not likely to believe me after I was on the wrong track with Anna."

He left the house with such a grim, hard expression that it almost made Ruth pity Samuel. She only prayed Samuel had no cohorts and was in this alone. She beseeched God for both of the men and for the situation to work itself out. She prayed for Carmel too before she rejoined her family.


	23. Chapter 23

Kid was more steamed the closer he got to Samuel's, thinking about the situation and thinking how upset Ruth had been. The small farm wasn't much to look at, but then they'd only been here a year. If it had started out as nothing, it might be impressive start.

Samuel's older brother answered his pounds on the door. He was stockier and shorter than his brother but otherwise they bore a great resemblance to each other.

"Where's Samuel?" Kid asked shortly before the brother even got a chance to ask him what he wanted.

"Not here. He ain't been here all morning. I'm his brother, Adam. What do want with him anyway?" His expression was hard and distrustful.

"I believe your brother has something that doesn't belong to him." Kid wasn't giving the man in front of him much thought though as he answered, thinking about what the absence meant. It was no coincidence that he wasn't at home. It meant he was out there somewhere causing some kind of mischief with Ruth's horse or he was simply being lied to by Adam.

Kid shoved past the 30-something man. He wanted to be sure Samuel wasn't here and see if there was anything that might give him a clue as to where he was.

"What gives you the right to bust into our home?" Adam demanded.

Kid drew his gun. "This gives me the right. You got any other questions?"

He still didn't look too frightened, but recognition filled his eyes. "I've seen you. You're that crazy healer woman's husband."

"Kid Cole's the name, and I better not hear any more cracks like that about my wife or no telling what might happen. My finger could slip on the trigger for example." He was in no mood to deal with the man.

Adam's face went pasty. "I—I've heard of you. I worked on the Mississippi as a boatman for awhile before I came back east with my brother. They say you can draw and hit a body so fast, you don't know what's happened to you till you're standing at the pearly gates."

Kid didn't answer. He was too concerned with tracking down Samuel. He also found that silence spoke louder than anything he could say as a person's imagination did most of the work.

The cabin was two rooms and judging from the clothes in the back corner of the back room that were for a thinner, longer man, he'd found Samuel's space. There wasn't much there. The area was orderly and practically bare, leaving not a hint of who this man was or where he'd gone.

"You got any idea where that brother of yours is?" Kid asked sharply.

"I ain't his nanny. He don't check in with me, but I'm sure he'll be back directly." Then he must have realized his tongue had gotten away from him as it hadn't been the most respectfully worded answer, so he added, "Sir."

"You let me know just as soon as he is. I got a bone to pick with him." Kid doubted he would actually tell him if he did return, but it didn't hurt anything to try.

When he got back, everyone was done with breakfast and were out hunting for signs of the horse.

"Did you find him?" Ruth asked anxiously when she saw him.

"He didn't go back home with her. I didn't really think he would. He'd have to be pretty stupid and clearly he's better at hiding his crimes than that."

She nodded and they split up as he joined in the hunt.

"I found some prints!" Clyde called after a couple minutes.

They all rushed over to where he was standing. In the soft patch of dirt there was a set of hoof prints and a set of man's prints.

"The heel of the left shoe looks a little funny," Robert remarked.

"The heel's about to come off Samuel's shoe," Anna said. "He mentioned it to me when we went out on the sleigh ride together. How he hoped he could afford better for…" she broke off too upset to go on.

That was all the proof they needed.

"I'd already given him the okay," James said, "but I guess I ain't as good a judge of character as I thought."

"Well, he seemed like such a nice young man; he had us all fooled," Mary said. "Course he and his brother ain't from around here. Nobody knows too much about them, I guess."

"I—I'm sure he's got a perfectly good explanation for this," Anna said, trying to hold onto her faith in him, but her worried expression and tone belied her words. She added in a small voice, "If I think about it, he's made some little comments about Ruth that in retrospect might hint he doesn't like her too good, but I don't know why. She ain't done nothing to him."

"What's he up to now? Why is he out in the woods with my horse?" Ruth asked.

"I don't know, but he wasn't taking it to a blacksmith for you," Robert said.

"I think you ladies should go wait up at the house," Kid said. "We'll find him and the horse."

"I suppose that's best," Mary agreed, ushering her grown daughters toward the hill.

"Have your guns loaded and ready," James warned. "We're dealing with a man who's clearly not right in the head. No telling what he's got planned next."

The men went into the woods while the women went up to the house.

James, Kid, Robert, and Clyde followed the broken limbs and other trail markers, but they got the distinct feeling after awhile that they were literally going around in circles on some mad, not so merry chase. They got more cranky, cold, and hungry by the minute.

Meanwhile, the women waited impatiently, listening for gunfire and periodically checking out the windows.

Suppressed sobs broke through the quiet. Anna was doing her best to hold them back. When Ruth, who was closer, looked her way they became louder. "I thought he loved me."

"He probably does, honey, in his own way," Ruth said.

"Well, it don't mean much from someone so twisted up in their thinking and morals," she returned.

Ruth put an arm around her. "I'm sorry. It ain't easy finding out someone you love ain't the person you thought they were."

"I know," Anna said her voice shaky from her crying. "And the worst part is all this really is my fault after all."

"It's not. You ain't responsible for his actions," Ruth said firmly.

She smiled weakly. "Thank you for saying that."

"I'm saying it cause it's true."

Mary had observed them quietly through the exchange and was beyond happy to see they were getting close again. "Well, I don't know about you girls, but I can't stand this sitting around and waiting anymore. I've got to have something for my hands to do."

"Sounds good to me, Momma. The men'll likely be ready to eat when they get back anyway," Ruth said, standing up.

The smell of the cooking food soon saturated the air. When they were done cooking, they were dusted in flour and it was about the lunch hour.

Ruth laughed as she took their appearance in. "I think Danny could stay cleaner doing all this than we could."

"Probably," Anna agreed with a chuckle. "I guess we better go get changed."

"I guess we'd better. We look like haunts," Ruth said. "They'll think we were having a flour fight."

"We're just enthusiastic cooks," Mary said with a smile. "But let's get changed so we can eat. No use holding lunch for them. Hard to tell when they'll be back."

Anna and Mary headed to their rooms. Ruth was right behind them when she spotted Carmel out of the corner of her eye through the window. The horse must've managed to get away from Samuel.

She rushed outside in her eagerness to get to her, but she did move more cautiously as she approached, looking to see if she spotted Samuel anywhere, but she only saw her horse. She hurried to her, wanting the animal safe and out of the way before Samuel chased her down.

Carmel snorted nervously. Obviously she had been through a harrowing experience. She took her reins and spoke soothingly, "It's okay. You're safe now."

Carmel refused to be reassured though. She rose up on her front hooves just as an explosion of pain hit the back of Ruth's head and the world went dark.


End file.
